Ontario Family Refuses to Pay $8,400 Hospital Fine Under Long-Term Care Law

Tecumseh, Ont., resident Michele Campeau is taking a stand against the $8,400 hospital bill her mother, Ruth Poupard, has received under Ontario‘s controversial long-term care law. Campeau views the bill as a ‘scare tactic’ and refuses to pay, intending to utilize it in her ongoing fight to challenge the legislation.

Campeau’s mother, 83-year-old Ruth Poupard, who suffers from dementia, has been in Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor since the beginning of the year, following a hip injury. The $8,400 charge stemmed from their refusal to accept a long-term care bed chosen for Poupard under the More Beds, Better Care Act, also known as Bill 7.

Bill 7, enacted in September 2022, permits hospitals to levy charges on patients declining assigned long-term care beds, aiming to free up spaces for more urgent medical cases. However, critics argue that the financial and emotional strain on families like Campeau’s showcases the necessity of repealing the legislation.

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare CEO, Bill Marra, stressed the importance of Bill 7 in managing high hospital demands, noting that the law had only been implemented on one individual so far. Marra added that the bill’s primary objective is to ensure hospital beds are available for patients in critical need of acute care.

In response to the ongoing controversy, advocacy groups such as CanAge and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly have taken legal action against the government, challenging the constitutionality of Bill 7. The lawsuit alleges that the legislation infringes on individuals’ Charter of Rights and Freedoms.