Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-31T23:09:29.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Private Cost of Long-Term Care in Canada: Where You Live Matters*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2010

Natasha Fernandes
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Byron G. Spencer*
Affiliation:
McMaster University
*
Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Byron G. Spencer, Ph.D., Department of Economics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4 (spencer@mcmaster.ca)

Abstract

Canadians expect the same access to health care whether they are rich or poor, and wherever they live, often without direct charge at the point of service. However, we find that the private cost of long-term care differs greatly across the country, and within provinces, we find substantial variation, depending on income level, marital status, and, in Quebec alone, on assets owned. A non-married person with average income would pay more than twice as much in the Atlantic provinces as in Quebec, while a couple with one in care would pay almost four times as much in Newfoundland as in Alberta.

Résumé

Les Canadiens s’attendent le même accès aux soins de santé, qu’ils soient riches ou pauvres, et n’importe où ils vivent, souvent sans frais directs au point de service. Toutefois, nous trouvons que le coût privé de soins de longue durée diffère grandement partout au pays, et dans les provinces, nous trouvons des variations importantes, selon le niveau de revenu, l’état matrimonial et, au Québec seulement, selon les actifs détenus. Une personne non-mariée avec un revenu moyen devrait payer plus de deux fois autant dans les provinces de l’Atlantique qu’au Québec, tandis qu’un couple, dont une personne a besoin de soins, paierait quatre fois plus en Terre-Neuve comme en Alberta.

Type
Special SEDAP Section: Canada’s Vulnerable Older Populations / Section spéciale SEDAP: Les Populations âgées vulnérables du Canada: Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors are grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for its support of the SEDAP (Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population) Research Program through its Major Collaborative Research Initiative.

References

Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2008). National health expenditure trends, 1975-2008. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; CIHIGoogle Scholar
Health Canada. (2008). Canada Health Act: Annual Report 2007–2008. Retrieved on April 1, 2010, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/alt_formats/hpb-dgps/pdf/pubs/chaar-ralcs-0708/2008-cha-lcs-eng.pdfGoogle Scholar
Manitoba. (2009). Personal care services: A guide to services and charges in Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Department of Health. Retrieved January 14, 2009, from http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/pcs/calculatorlast.htmlGoogle Scholar
Manulife Financial. (2009). What does long-term care cost? Markham, Ontario, Canada: Takingcare Inc. Corp. Retrieved April 1, 2009, http://www.manulife.ca/canada/ilc2.nsf/Public/lc_cost, search on cost of long-term care.Google Scholar
Ness, J., Ahmed, A., & Aronow, W.S. (2004), Demographics and payment characteristics of nursing home residents in the United States: A 23-year trend. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 59A(11), 12131217.Google Scholar
Quebec. (2009). Financial contribution by accommodated adults. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada: Department of Health. Retrieved March 9, 2009, from http://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/en/publications/documents/depliantscitoyens/depl_heberges_et_papil_en.pdfGoogle Scholar
Romanow, R.J. (2002). Building on values: The future of health care in Canada, final report. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CP32-85-2002E.pdfGoogle Scholar
Stadnyk, R.L. (2009). Three policy issues in deciding the cost of nursing home care: Provincial differences and how they influence elderly couples’ experiences. Healthcare Policy, 5(1), e133e144.Google ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada. (2009) Low income cut-offs for 2008 and low income measures for 2007, Catalogue no. 75F0002M, No. 002; Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75f0002m/75f0002m2009002-eng.pdf, p 25.Google Scholar