Seniors need better protection from personal care home rate increases, advocate says
Increases shouldn't be more than annual, greater than rate of inflation, says Susan Walsh
Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors' advocate says steps need to be taken to protect seniors from skyrocketing personal care home rates.
Susan Walsh highlighted the issue as one of eleven recommendations in a report issued Thursday, pitching the provincial government that seniors face uncertainty in care given how rates have increased.
"We saw there a couple of years ago that the rates jumped by over 20 per cent, and there was a public outcry because people couldn't afford [it.] That can't happen, and should not happen," Walsh told reporters last week.
"We know we have many seniors in this province who went into personal care homes understanding what their rate would be and then all of the sudden the rates go up. And they are like, 'What do I do now? Where do I go? I can't afford to pay.'"
Walsh's report, which called for a new governance structure surrounding the care of seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador, recommended rental rates for personal care homes not increase more than once a year, and that increases shouldn't exceed the rate of inflation.
Residents should also receive no less than four months written notice prior to an increase, she added.
"There should be a structured plan whereby the rate is increased to what the system can, you know, accept," Walsh said.
Speaking at a housing event on Friday, Seniors Minister John Abbott said the recommendation was discussed as part of a meeting with Walsh following the report's release.
He agreed that rising rates are a problem — especially because seniors often have to carefully budget for where they can live.
"That's one of the issues, and issues like that, that I want to bring to the cabinet committee on seniors," Abbott said.
"What are some best practices? What can we do? And what should we do? So, this is a very live issue and we just got to get working on it."
Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell also spoke to the report last week, saying Walsh's recommendation to develop continuum of care legislation and operational standards for personal care homes is underway within government.
However, changes aren't expected to be revealed this spring.
Walsh's report also called on the province to move senior care from the responsibility of the Department of Health and Community Services to the Department of Seniors.
Abbott said the department's mandate is still being finalized, but said he and Howell would be working closely together.
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With files from Mark Quinn
