While much of the focus of the new federal carbon tax coming into effect on April 1 was its impact on gas prices, its impact on the vital healthcare may have come in under the radar.

Ontario hospitals are set to take a $27 million hit by 2022 because of the new price on carbon, according to the province.

The initial cost to Windsor Regional Hospital alone will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — and the number is expected to grow quickly.

"We don't think punishing people is the way to get it done," says Rod Phillips, the provincial minister of the environment.

The province is fighting the new carbon pricing in court — imposed by the federal government after Premier Doug Ford announced his new government would scrap Ontario’s existing cap-and-trade carbon pricing program.

Phillips argues the extra costs will ultimately have a negative impact on patient care.

"It would certainly be news if we were coming here announcing a $27 million dollar cut in healthcare and that's exactly what [prime minister] Justin Trudeau is doing,” said Phillips.

In Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, the province estimates the carbon tax will cost area hospitals $381,000 this year and nearly $1 million by 2022.

"That really is unsustainable,” says Musyj. “They're just lost dollars that could be spent on patient care."

The hospital’s top executive says a million dollars equates to ten registered nurses.

Musyj says costly energy-efficiency upgrades to Windsor's aging hospitals aren't going to happen to help offset the increased costs. 

"I wish we had newer facilities, our heating and cooling costs would go down,” says Musyj. “Just spending this extra money for no extra service and our inability to reduce consumption to the point that is meant by this tax doesn't apply to a hospital."

Musyj tells CTV Windsor it will be tough to keep hospitals in the black amid uncontrollable budget pressures.

"Arguably we should be exempt,” says Musyj. “I don't think it's coming, but clearly it's got to be revisited."

Bill Marra of Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare says they're still reviewing and validating the numbers and declined to comment at this time.

The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance says it has assessed the impact and is already introducing energy-efficiency initiatives to help offset the additional costs.