Ontario Connecting People in the North to Health Care Services
The Ontario government’s expansion to the North Health Travel Grant is now in effect. Over the next three years the province is investing $45 million to expand the Northern Health Travel Grant Program to help people in [Community] connect to the specialized care and services they need. This will reduce expenses while making it easier for Northern families to connect to the care they need.
As of today, December 1, 2024, expansions and improvements to the Northern Health Travel Grant now in effect are:
- Increased reimbursements for overnight trips to better reflect people’s needs and increased costs, including:
- Increasing the accommodation allowance from $100 to $175 per night, as well as increasing the total allowance for eight or more nights from $550 to $1,150.
- Reducing the travel distance requirement to be eligible for overnight accommodation allowance from 200 kilometres to 100 kilometres.
- Expanding eligibility to include medical travel companions accompanying a patient who is hospitalized.
- Eliminating the need for a signature from the referring health care provider, making the application process faster and easier.
- Removing the 100-kilometre deductible and reimbursing every kilometre travelled to help offset higher gas prices.
- Adding more eligible health care providers and more facility locations, such as community laboratories, to help more people get reimbursed for their incurred costs.
The government will also be introducing a more convenient online application form in Spring 2025 that includes digital receipt submissions which will help families get their reimbursement faster.
News Releases:
En: Connecting People to Health Care Services
Fr: Connecter les gens aux services de soins de santé