NPLC and FHT Contracts

This email was sent to EDs/Admin leads, board chairs and lead MDs/NPs of AFHTO member teams

Dear triad members,

By now you would have received letters from the Ministry of Health with regards to the NPLC and FHT contracts for the upcoming fiscal year.

In the letter to the NPLCs, the Ministry noted that it was implementing section 15.10 of the contracts:

• The Ministry reserves the right to assign or transfer its roles and responsibilities under this Agreement to an agency of the Crown, upon giving the Clinic 60 days written notice of its intention to do so. In the event of any such assignment or transfer shall not require a formal assignment agreement, and upon such assignment or transfer, all references to the Ministry shall automatically apply to the Crown agency.

As such, the Ministry intends to transfer the contract management and oversight of the NPLCs to Ontario Health, effective April 1, 2023. All provisions in the NPLC Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. The Ministry, along with Ontario Health, will be holding a Q&A about the transition and any questions the NPLCs have on Monday, February 6th from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. If you didn’t get a meeting invite, please contact your Ministry Senior Program Consultant.

A separate letter went to FHTs that now notes that the FHT contract has been extended for another year. Your contract now expires on March 31, 2024. You MUST sign back your letters before March 15, 2023 to enable ongoing funding to flow to your FHT into the next fiscal year.

We understand many of you will have questions on the NPLC transition process and what this might mean for the potential of a future transition of the FHT contracts to OH. We’re speaking regularly with MOH and OH and hope to have a Q&A in the spring for FHTs, once we have a better idea of what the next steps will be with the future of the FHT contract.  

We also recognize the extensive feedback our members provided during consultations over the last year on ways to strengthen the FHT contract, and we provided these recommendations to the Ministry in November 2022. These recommendations will still be kept under consideration and are being discussed internally at the MOH and OH. While we won’t see changes to the FHT contract for another year, amendments to the attestation and Schedule A might happen sooner and this may require action from you prior to March 31, 2023. Alongside government, we will keep you apprised of expectations and timelines.

AFHTO is here to support you as we continue building relations with OH, ensuring support mechanisms through them are clear, and as we work toward a more streamlined process for contract management.
We will continue to work with you, with MOH, and with OH on next steps.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Your AFHTO Team