Summary#

Bill 277, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Amendment Act (Supporting Individuals in their Homes and Communities with Assistive Devices for Mental Health), 2021, would amend Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Act. Its goal is to include assistive devices for mental health needs in the Assistive Devices Program or a similar program.

• The Minister must ensure that the Assistive Devices Program, or any similar program providing access to assistive devices for health needs, includes devices to support mental health needs.
• The program must also include related data plans needed to connect those devices.
• The bill does not create a new program or guarantee that any particular person will receive a device. It does not set eligibility or application rules.
• If enacted, it would take effect 90 days after Royal Assent.

What it means for you#

• People with mental health needs: Devices and the data plans needed to connect them would have to be included in the relevant program. The bill does not say who qualifies, what devices are covered, or whether an individual would be entitled to a device.
• Minister and program administrators: The Minister must ensure the required inclusion. The bill does not say how the program would make coverage decisions.
• Health care providers, device suppliers and taxpayers: The bill creates no direct duties for them, but program delivery could have costs. The amount is not stated.
• The supplied text identifies the Assistive Devices Program as an existing program, but the parent Act was not supplied. Its current rules and how this bill would interact with them could not be verified.

Money#

No implementation cost estimate is provided; the bill’s preamble gives figures from a pilot study, not a forecast of the bill’s cost.

• The preamble says one hospital bed cost $454 per day, or $165,710 per year, for one individual in the pilot. It says devices for that same individual living at home cost $12,000 per year, including licensing and billing fees.
• The bill does not set a budget, funding source, fees, or staffing level. No publicly available information on the bill’s total cost is included in the supplied material.

What is unclear#

• The bill does not define “assistive devices,” “mental health needs,” or which similar programs would qualify.
• It does not set eligibility rules, application steps, decision timelines, appeals, or reporting requirements.
• It does not specify which devices or data plans must be covered, or how much coverage the program must provide.
• It does not explain how the required inclusion would be funded or how it would fit with existing program rules.
• The bill does not set out privacy or data-handling rules for information sent through connected devices.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to make connected devices and their data plans available through an existing health-support program, rather than create a separate program.
• A possible argument for the bill is that devices could help some people receive care and support while living at home.
• The preamble reports that participants in a pilot study felt more independent and less isolated, and that 78 per cent said the devices improved their overall health.
• The preamble’s cost comparison suggests home-based devices may cost less than a hospital bed in the example given. That single comparison is not a cost estimate for the bill.

Case against#

• The bill requires program inclusion but does not guarantee that a person who needs a device will qualify or receive one.
• Without definitions or coverage rules, it is unclear what devices and data plans must be included, and how consistent access would be.
• The bill requires the Minister to ensure inclusion but does not specify funding or delivery arrangements; costs and practical access could therefore remain uncertain.
• The preamble’s pilot findings and one-person cost comparison do not show how well the approach would work or what it would cost across the province.