Working to reduce hospital parking rates
The cost of parking in hospitals can be prohibitive, with many simply unable to afford the high costs, especially if spending a lot of time at a health center or hospital. The Ministry of Health is now collaborating with Long-Term Care in a bid to relieve the financial burden of high cost parking when visiting someone in hospital or needing the health services themselves.
The MoH says that it will be discounting as much as 50 per cent from the cost of parking at hospitals that charge more than $10 per day to leave a vehicle. Many hospitals have metered parking that charges an hourly rate, but also has a higher flat rate limit. For example, some locations charge $1 per hour or $12 flat for a 24-hour period.
Health Sciences North attendees for example will likely miss out on any discounts as at the moment the hospitals under the banner now charge $6 per day. That then could be considered a normal rate, with those locations that charge more being deemed overly expensive. It is these expensive locations that are the focus of the new collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Spokesman Dan Lessard said HSN administers will look into parking costs and will review the system in view of this new initiative.
“But it’s too early to say at this point what impact this will have on our parking fees as our rates tend to come under the threshold,” said Lessard.
Health Minister, Eric Hoskins, announced on Monday that parking rates at hospitals will be discounted, but those discounts will not be in place until Oct. 1, 2016. As part of the mandated reductions coming later in the year, those locations charging more than $10 per day will also have to offer day passes for 5, 10, and 30 days.
