'It's not going to be $1,800': Ford weighs in on hospital fee controversy

Patients who face increased pressure to move from hospitals to long-term care homes will not face $1,800/day charges if they refuse, Premier Doug Ford suggested just hours before his government is expected to pass Bill 7, its patient-transfer bill.

"I'll tell you right now — I can't say 100 per cent — but $1,800 dollars is absolutely ridiculous," Ford told reporters at Queen's Park late on Tuesday, after a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"We'll have to work out the costs and the hospitals have to work out the cost. The people who are determining that, it's not me personally," he said. "It's the hospitals and Ontario Health. So they'll work it out, but I'll pretty well guarantee it's not going to be $1,800."

Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, makes it easier for hospitals to free up beds occupied by alternate level of care patients, the designation for people whose doctor or nurse have decided no longer need hospital-level support. The bill does this by removing the requirement of the patient's consent from the process of admitting them into an LTC home.

The bill states patients can't be physically transferred from a hospital to a long-term care home without their consent.

However, before Ford's comments on Tuesday, the government hadn't explicitly said hospitals wouldn't be allowed to charge patients the same rates that uninsured patients pay, which are as high as $1,800 a day at some hospitals and less than $1,000 at others, if they refuse to move into a long-term care home that was chosen for them.

Some people are charged those rates by hospitals today in some circumstances. Opposition parties and patients' rights advocates had raised concerns that the charges would be levied more frequently as a result of the legislation.

Bill 7 goes to its final vote on Wednesday. The legislation represents one part of the Progressive Conservative government's plan to relieve pressure on the health-care system. The government hopes the bill's changes will allow it to free up 250 hospital beds over the next six months.

"We just want these patients to go into a proper environment that is just better for them," Ford added on Tuesday.

Read More: ‘Maybe I’ll die, too’: Families fear impacts of Ontario LTC-transfer bill