Are Seniors Getting Ahead?

A Progress Report on Government Programs and Supports for BC Seniors

Written by Tony DuMoulin

The number of British Columbians 65 years of age and older is projected to grow from its current 950,000 this year to over 1.6 million by 2040. Are BC seniors today able to access needed services? Can we be confident that our seniors’ care system in BC, with appropriate support from Ottawa, will continue to grow in order to support the added burden of these rapidly expanding numbers?

Let us first look at some examples of recent improvements to existing programs, services and policies, at both the provincial and the federal level, including enhancements now in the pipeline. Then we will identify further programs and services and supports for which seniors still need to advocate.

Recent Improvements

In the last three years, the province has committed to, and in some cases has already provided, a variety of new measures for seniors:

• Over the last two years, funds have been committed and allocated for an additional 225 long term care beds

• The Health Ministry is boosting the average daily care hours at BC’s long-term care residences to 3.36 hours per resident, from the current 3.14. With the hiring of 950 new care aides, and part time workers becoming full time, care hours are now up to 3.24 hours, and more hiring is to come.

• Seniors on the waiting list for a long term care bed will no longer be forced to take the first bed available or else drop to the end of the waiting list if they fail to accept the offered bed immediately. Seniors are now able to choose from their three preferred care homes, and will have three days to make their decision.

• Funds are now available for an additional 8,435 adult daycare spaces. Adult day care is an important service because it counters social isolation, and provides respite for family members.

• Improvements have been made in the cost of rental housing with rent rebates and an increase in prescription drug deductibles for low income seniors.

The Federal Government has made important improvements to help seniors and those who follow them. Here are some examples:

• The age for eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) has been restored to 65

• The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) has been increased by 10 percent

• The amount of income GIS recipients are allowed to earn before their GIS is clawed back has been increased

• Ottawa has committed funds for a National Dementia Strategy

• We now have a Minister of Seniors

• Funding is available for the New Horizons Senior Program, which provides grants to projects that empower seniors in the communities

• Ottawa has implemented a non-refundable tax credit that applies to caregivers, whether or not they live with their family member

• There is now a provision for automatic enrolment for Canadians over the age of 70 who have not applied for the Canada Pension Plan

What is still needed?

At the provincial level, home support services, a major element of seniors care in BC, are not meeting the needs of our growing senior population, 94% of whom live at home. According to our provincial Seniors’ Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, “Seniors in our province tell me they want to age in their homes for as long as possible, but the system which should enable that is falling short.”

Home support workers help at-home seniors with their hygiene, getting dressed and other daily chores, but the Seniors’ Advocate has reported that the unreliable, costly system has not kept pace with demand. A major reason for this is that many families simply cannot afford the cost of home support. In most provinces, including Alberta and Ontario, home support is free. BC is one of the few provinces that charges a fee, and the rates are the highest in Canada. In Metro Vancouver, the average fee is $38 an hour. That means that a senior with an annual income of $27,800 is expected to pay $8,800 a year, or over 33% of their income, for one home support visit per day. Because of this high cost, it becomes more affordable for many seniors to go into long term care. This causes lengthy waiting lists for long term care beds. 4,200 long term beds are being occupied by residents who are capable, with adequate home support, of living in their homes.

As evidenced by waiting lists, many more long term care beds and care aides are needed. In addition to the new 225 beds and 950 additional care aides the province has already promised, some advocates believe we will need more like 5,000 new beds to be provided over the next three years, and 2,800 more care aides within five years.

At the federal level, here are some items seniors’ advocates could be pushing for:

• Increased funding to provinces for building new affordable housing designed for seniors, for retrofitting existing homes for accessibility and safety, and for reducing the cost of public transit for seniors.

• Funding a federal “Pharmacare”: a universal, single payer public plan to provide prescription medicine to all seniors. Such a plan should include the cost of vaccinations, and include dental care and eye and hearing care under the Canada Health Act.

• Making the Caregiver Tax Credit refundable so it benefits those with low income who don’t pay income taxes and thus cannot take advantage of the tax credit. As many as one third of “informal” family care givers are in distress because they are not getting enough respite. This change, plus other forms of financial assistance to family caregivers, could alleviate this distress

• Changing bankruptcy legislation to make defined benefit pensioners secured creditors (i.e. at the head of the line) when their employers enter bankruptcy proceedings

• Eliminate (or reduce the rate of) mandatory withdrawals from RIFFs so seniors have the freedom to reduce their withdrawals to only what they need at each stage in their retirement

Conclusion: BC Seniors ARE making progress

In my view, there is no doubt that with the recent improvements for seniors in BC, we ARE getting ahead. Most BC seniors should be happy to live in a country and a province which takes seriously its duty to provide support for seniors. But don’t take it from me. In the words of our Seniors’ Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie:

“…we have a very good [provincial] pharmacare program… And we have, for the most part, a success story in what I would call egalitarian access to long-term care in this province. Everybody’s entitled to a bed. Everybody – regardless of income – will get a long-term-care bed. 75% are in single rooms in this province…Change is slow and incremental. It’s that constant pushing the rock up the hill. You’ve just got to apply the constant pressure and you’ll get there.”

In other words, we all need to be advocates for continued improvements. We cannot be content to see many of our fellow seniors falling through the cracks in our successful but still imperfect system. Let us continue to push to fill those cracks.