• Ontario Clarifies Longstanding Out-of-Country Drug Funding Process

  Source: Ontario - Ministry of Health
  Date: 2026-10-06 21:00:00.0
  Tags: [Ontario, Healthcare, Affordability, Governance, Finance]

  The Government of Ontario has amended Regulation 552 of the Health Insurance Act to align with its longstanding out-of-country drug funding policy, restricting out-of-country funding to treatments where the drug and administration are publicly funded in Ontario, temporarily unavailable locally, and necessary to prevent death or irreversible tissue damage. According to the Ministry of Health led by Minister Sylvia Jones, the regulatory clarification aims to prevent global pharmaceutical companies from bypassing direct price negotiations with the province and avoids potential health-care system cost increases of up to $5.2 billion annually alongside $170 million in out-of-country treatment requests. This follows a recent Ontario Divisional Court decision concerning out-of-country drug funding, which the government is evaluating alongside options such as an appeal or a negotiated resolution with the applicant.

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• As federal budget nears, Canada’s health ministers to meet to talk funding

  Source: Global News Politics
  Date: 2026-09-28 22:20:24.0
  Tags: [National, Ontario, Healthcare, Finance]

  Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial health ministers are convening for an emergency meeting ahead of the upcoming federal budget to address concerns over the upcoming expiration of targeted healthcare funding. Provincial leaders, including Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, warn of a fiscal cliff as bilateral agreements for home care, community care, and mental health and addiction services—part of the 2023 federal funding package totaling $200 billion over 10 years, which included $4.8 billion for home and community care and mental health, $3 billion for long-term care safety, and $1.7 billion for personal support worker wages—are set to sunset between 2026 and 2028. Additionally, the federal government's Canada Health Transfer growth rate is scheduled to drop from a guaranteed minimum of five percent annually to three percent after fiscal year 2027-28.

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