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HomeNewsFord Government reportedly looking to dissolve current LHIN model

Ford Government reportedly looking to dissolve current LHIN model

Healthcare funding for Muskoka could undergo a dramatic shift.

According to a recent report from CBC News, provincial sources have claimed the Ford Government is considering redesigning the Local Health Integration Network model. The funding model was created by the Liberals in 2007, with 14 regional bodies filtering billions of dollars into hospitals and other healthcare services in the province. The Tory proposal would reportedly cut those 14 regional bodies down to five, in an effort to cut down the $90 million annual price tag on the current model. The sources speaking with CBC News suggested this was one part of the Ford Government’s plan to overhaul healthcare in Ontario.

But, this isn’t the first time Ontario’s government has considered changing healthcare models in the province. While under the leadership of Kathleen Wynne, the Liberals were reportedly considering shaving down the number of provincial health units from 36 to 14, matching them up with the LHIN coverage areas.

That proposal was panned by a local official with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Doctor Charles Gardiner. Speaking with MyMuskokaNow.com in 2017, Dr. Gardiner said shifting health unit borders would uproot long-standing relationships health officials had built with officials in the municipalities they covered. He also said the workload on health units would be strained as more communities would be added per unit.

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The proposal, which never took off, would have seen the SMDHU merged with the North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit.

There’s no word on when the Ford Government plans to officially announce this new LHIN-changing proposal. Muskoka currently falls under the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN.

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