Quebec health minister admits fees for senior care out of date

Quebec's health minister says the standards used to decide who gets help to pay for long-term care need to be revised.

According to standards set in 1982, a person is ineligible to pay a reduced price at a public nursing home (known by its French acronymCHSLD)if they have more than $2,500 in liquid assets or a home worth more than $40,000.

Health MinisterGatanBarrette says those benchmarks have not stood the test of time.

"The parameters of the program haven't changed for yearsmore than 20 years, actually," he said.

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The comments come aftera Quebec City mantold CBCearlier this monthhe feared he might have to sell his home in order to pay for his wife's care.

NeilBattertonand hiswifeMireillelive off $2,000a month, but face monthly care costs of $1,800 to pay for her nursing home costs.

Barrette said the government will look at the criteria in place for those seeking reducednursing home fees.

But the minister addedthatthe maximum fee, which he said is low compared to the rest of Canada, could also be revised.

More people asking for help

In the meantime, the number of people applying for an exemption with the provincial public health insurance agency (RAMQ) has ballooned over the past fiveyears.

The insurer calculates its annual numbers from February to February of each year.

RAMQprocessed only 4,882applications for exemptions in 2012. That number has grown progressively every year since then,reaching 7,929 requests for 2016.

During that time, the number of people staying in CHSLDs has gone down slightly.

Caroline Dupont, a spokeswoman forRAMQ,saidthe statistics only show the number of applications received, not necessarily the number of individuals applying.

"One person can make two or three [requests] in the same year," she said.

Fewer people get financial relief

While the number of requests is exploding, the number of people who are getting approved for reduced rates is dropping.

According to RAMQ, 1,633 fewer people benefitedfrom a lower rate in 2016 than in 2012.

Dupontsaidshe cannot interpret the data and does not know why requests are going up while the number of those getting approved for lower fees are goingdown.

She saidthe standards used to measure people's eligibility have not become any stiffer.

It's scary for those who are getting older. What is going to happen to us?- Judith Gagnon, president of AQDR

ButJudithGagnon,the president of the Quebec association for the defence of the rights of retired and pre-retired people (AQDR), saidthe flood of requests isfurther proof that seniors are having trouble paying for their care.

"It's scary for those who are getting older. What is going to happen to us?"Gagnon said.

She said the RAMQ financial benchmarks are forcing people to drain their money to the last drop.

"[It's] every little bit they have to keep living. Is that what we want? What's the message we are sending to people?"

Calls for change

Quebec's opposition parties also say the need for change is urgent,and that the steady increase in requests proves it.

"What are so many people asked for an exemption and why are so many not receiving it? There's reason to examine to our conscience there," Coalition Avenir Quebechealth critic Franois Paradis said.

The provinces are in the middle of negotiating a new deal with the Trudeau government on the amount of health care funding they can expect to receive.

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Barrette says in order for him to do more, Ottawa must do the same.

"Quebec has a problem like all provinces and the federal government has to respect its commitments."