Bill 78 explained in plain English
Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, 2015, requires major health sector organizations and publicly funded suppliers receiving over $1 million in public funds to adhere to transparency and accountability measures, and mandates the annual public disclosure of OHIP payments exceeding $100,000.
This bill, the Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, 2015, aims to increase transparency and accountability in how health care services are funded in Ontario. It introduces new requirements for certain health sector organizations and publicly funded suppliers regarding compensation, audits, and public disclosure of payments from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
- Defines "major health sector organizations" as entities receiving at least $1 million in public funds annually from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, starting April 1, 2015.
- Defines "publicly-funded suppliers" as entities receiving at least $1 million in public funds annually, directly or indirectly, from major health sector organizations or other publicly-funded suppliers, starting April 1, 2015.
- Requires these major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers to comply with Part II.1 (Compensation Arrangements) of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010.
- Requires these organizations and suppliers to be deemed governmental organizations for the purposes of the Ombudsman Act.
- Requires these organizations and suppliers to be deemed employers for the purposes of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996.
- Authorizes the Auditor General of Ontario to audit any aspect of the operations of major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers.
- Requires the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to prepare and publish an annual disclosure statement by September 30 each year.
- The disclosure statement must list the total amount paid by OHIP to any person or entity for services provided in the previous fiscal year, if that amount is $100,000 or more.
- The disclosure statement must include a caution explaining that the figures represent gross payments and do not allow for net income calculations.
- Empowers the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations necessary to implement the Act.
- Major health sector organizations (defined as entities receiving at least $1 million annually in public funds from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, starting April 1, 2015). This includes examples like boards of health, community care access corporations, designated air ambulance service providers, hospitals, independent health facilities, local health integration networks, long-term care homes, and out-of-hospital premises.
- Publicly-funded suppliers (defined as entities receiving at least $1 million annually in public funds, directly or indirectly, from major health sector organizations or other publicly-funded suppliers, starting April 1, 2015). This includes for-profit businesses.
- The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (responsible for preparing and publishing annual OHIP payment disclosure statements).
- The Auditor General of Ontario (authorized to audit operations of specified health organizations and suppliers).
- Physicians and other entities receiving payments from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) of $100,000 or more annually, whose payments will be publicly disclosed.
- Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers have an obligation to comply with Part II.1 of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010.
- Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers have an obligation to be considered governmental organizations for the purposes of the Ombudsman Act.
- Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers have an obligation to be considered employers for the purposes of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996.
- The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has an obligation to publish an annual disclosure statement of OHIP payments.
- The Auditor General has the right to audit the operations of major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Definitions of 'major health sector organizations' and 'publicly-funded suppliers' apply to fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2015.
- The application of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010, and the Ombudsman Act to these organizations and suppliers begins in the first fiscal year on or after April 1, 2015, in which they receive at least $1 million in public funds, and continues thereafter.
- The application of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996, applies to fiscal years in which these organizations and suppliers receive at least $1 million in public funds.
- The Auditor General's authority to audit applies to fiscal years in which these organizations and suppliers receive at least $1 million in public funds.
- OHIP payments made for services provided on or after April 1, 2015, are subject to the annual disclosure requirement.
- The annual disclosure statement must be prepared by September 30 each year for the previous fiscal year.
- The Act mandates the disclosure of payments made by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) exceeding $100,000 annually to individuals or entities.
- It clarifies that these disclosed figures are gross payments and do not represent net income.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance.
- The bill grants the Auditor General the authority to audit operations, which may lead to findings or recommendations.
- The bill does not detail the specific penalties for non-compliance with its provisions.
- The bill allows for additional information to be prescribed by regulation in the annual OHIP disclosure statement.
- The full extent of "operations" that the Auditor General can audit is not further defined.
- The bill specifies that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations, but the content of these potential regulations is not detailed within the bill text itself.
Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers will be deemed employers for the purposes of Part II.1 (Compensation Arrangements) of this Act, starting from the first fiscal year on or after April 1, 2015, in which they receive at least $1 million in public funds, and for every fiscal year thereafter.
Source: Section 5(1) and (2)
Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers will be deemed governmental organizations for the purposes of this Act, starting from the first fiscal year on or after April 1, 2015, in which they receive at least $1 million in public funds, and for every fiscal year thereafter.
Source: Section 6(1) and (2)
Major health sector organizations and publicly-funded suppliers will be deemed employers for the purposes of the definition of "employer" in this Act, but only for fiscal years in which they receive at least $1 million in public funds.
Source: Section 7(1) and (2)
This Act establishes new rules for transparency and accountability in health care funding.
Source: Preamble, Section 12
The Lieutenant Governor in Council may create regulations to help carry out the intent and purpose of the Act, including specifying information for disclosure statements.
Source: Section 10
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced