[1]: 1.11 At the request of Dr. Fred W. Routley, then the Ontario Director of the Canadian Red Cross, a group of hospital workers met on 13th December 1923 at the Toronto Academy of Medicine to establish the OHA.

The 58 attendees consisted of hospital physicians, nurses, superintendents, business managers, trustees and association executives.

According to Gagan, the objective was not to deny indigent patients access to hospital care, but to appeal to middle-class self-interest to spur statutory changes in government social policy.

During his speech, he publicly acknowledged a body of experts who helped conduct studies related to this proposal, which included the executive of the Ontario Hospital Association and the Blue Cross.

[4] He added that as part of the conditions of implementation, the plan was to be "administered by the Ontario Hospital Service Commission, either through the agency of the Blue Cross or by a crown corporation similar to the Blue Cross, and by personnel drawn from the Ontario Hospital Association."