The Health Sector Payment Transparency Act, 2017 (“HSPTA”) is new legislation intended to strengthen transparency surrounding the financial relationships that exist within Ontario’s health care system and increase public trust and confidence. The HSPTA received Royal Assent on December 12, 2017 as part of the Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, 2017, however it is not yet in force. Given the upcoming provincial election, the current government has advised that the final regulations will be revisited during the fall of 2018.
Under the HSPTA, any transfer of value provided directly or indirectly by a payor to a recipient must be reported to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care unless the transfer is exempt by the regulations or due to a low dollar amount.
A “payor” is defined as any person who provides a transfer of value to a recipient and is:
The HSPTA outlines that the payor is required to include, as part of its reporting obligations, the name of the parties to the transaction including any legal and operating names, individual’s name, profession or title, business addresses, date of the transfer of value, exact or approximate dollar value, and description of the transfer of value including the reasons for it.
The Ministry is proposing to prescribe the following exemptions under which payors would not be required to report a transaction:
The Act provides for enforcement and offences including considerable inspection powers that would allow inspectors to enter premises without a warrant at any reasonable time should they believe that a record relating to a transaction may be located there to determine compliance. Penalties for violations of the HSPTA include:
Sharma Lawyers Briefing Note is a publication of Sharma Lawyers canvassing new developments and trends in Canadian law. The issues raised in this publication by Sharma Lawyers are for information purposes only. The comments contained in this document should not be relied upon to replace specific legal advice and readers are advised to contact their professional advisors.
