Budget Adjustments to Reflect Historical Spend

Dear Leadership Triad,
 
We understand letters from the Ministry are being received by some FHTs and NPLCs regarding budget adjustments for this upcoming fiscal year.
 
In conversation with the Ministry, we were told that a 3-year line-by-line budget analysis was done to teams that have chronically underspent (i.e., teams that have sent back money to the Ministry each year). As a result – and with the government’s goal of finding cost savings and efficiencies in mind – some teams are seeing a reduction in their base budget. This is known as “right correcting” the budget to reflect actual spend. We anticipate that the budget adjustments will affect about 60% of teams.
 
The Ministry indicated that budgets were reduced by only a proportion of the overall underspend, although the exact amount is not known.
 
AFHTO has met with the Ministry’s Primary Health Care Branch and with the Minister’s Office to express our concerns, especially for those teams where frontline delivery of care may be affected. To help us better understand and communicate the impact these budget adjustments will have on our teams, please respond to these questions by May 31st:

• How much of your budget has been reduced?
• To apply the cost savings, where will you need to make your budget adjustments (i.e., what line items)?
• Will frontline delivery of care be impacted? If yes, what does that look like?

We will be collating your responses to feed back to the Ministry and the Minster’s Office, and hope to do so once we receive information from members in the field.
 
For those who see substantial adjustments, we are seeking clarity on whether you can appeal to get the funds back or if you can reapply for those funds.
 
As we continue to work with the Ministry and the Minister’s Office, we encourage you speak with your MPP to ensure they know how these budget adjustments will impact care in your community
 
As always, please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for your ongoing support.

Kavita Mehta
Chief Executive Officer, AFHTO

Status

•  A letter was sent to the ministry on May 31 with members’ concerns and questions.
• Ministry response was received on July 12.
• AFHTO has followed up on unanswered questions, including why only FHTs and NPLCs were impacted. A Q&A is being prepared by the ministry and will be posted when received.