Increases will hurt local seniors

Increases will hurt local seniors
By Dan Hilborn, BUrnaby Now assistant editor
Published Aug. 6, 2003


A director of one of the largest senior groups serving Burnaby and New Westminster is expressing concern after the provincial government increased the 'co-pay fee' for seniors living in residential care homes late last month.

Vic Leach, director of the Seniors' Bureau, said the latest move is one of "too many changes" for seniors in the past two years, and it's time to stop the cuts to services and the increases to fees.

"How do you adjust for the future when the ground is constantly changing?" Leach asked. "I'd say the MLAs should put themselves in the shoes of a 70-year-old low-income individual and walk with them for a week. See what it's like living on $1,100 a month and then being faced with putting your 80-year-old spouse into a care home when you don't have the funds."

The change, announced Thursday, means many seniors who live in subsidized residential care homes will face increases in October ranging from $1.60 to $15 per day, depending on their income. Anyone earning under $18,000 per year will not have a rate increase, and will continue to pay the former rate of $27.10 per day to live in residential care.

Katherine Whittred, the Minister of State for Intermediate, Long Term and Home Care, said the change means the vast majority of seniors in B.C. care homes - an estimated 72 per cent of residents - will not have to pay any fee increase.

"We have worked very hard to ensure that people on low incomes and moderate incomes are not impacted," said Whittred.

Under the system, the lowest rate of $27.10 per day is unchanged and people currently paying that rate will not be affected. But above that rate, the fee increases begin to rise sharply, until people paying the highest rate, $50 per day for people with annual incomes of $56,000 or more, will pay another $15 per day - or an extra $450 per month.

Whittred noted that B.C. still has the lowest residential care fee in Canada, and its $65 per day maximum rate is lower than many provinces. Only Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have lower maximum rates.

"I think I can pretty much say with a great deal of confidence that the increase in residential rates are not going to have an impact on people in residential care," Whittred said. "The co-pay is pretty much in line with other provinces and is really, I think, quite reasonable in that it includes all accommodations, meals, activities and various therapies, as well as their drugs."

While Leach agreed that the current change will affect only a few local seniors, he said the cumulative effect of a great number of changes over the past two years is starting to overwhelm many.

"There have been dramatic changes in all the things that have to do with the medical services - from the Pharmacare program to all of their programs. These are traumatic changes, and what are seniors going to do?

"There are too many changes in too short a period of time, and they're still coming. It doesn't give seniors any hope ... they're reeling," Leach said.

Leach, who oversees one of the oldest and most active senior's advocacy organizations in the Lower Mainland, said most seniors voted for the B.C. Liberal government and were willing to give premier Gordon Campbell's austerity measures the benefit of the doubt. However, the long list of changes is overwhelming for many.

For instance, when the province changed the Pharmacare system earlier this year, many seniors had to pay fee increases of up to $200 per year. "I've heard a number of people say they're going to cut back on the pills they take because it's getting too expensive," Leach said.

In addition to those changes, the Fraser Health Authority recently announced plans to reduce the amount of home support services it provides. Home support is one of the programs intended to help keep seniors out of extended care homes or hospitals.