Seniors, workers, and health care advocates join together to support funding reform in long-term care

[Vancouver] October 31, 2023 – Today at 2 pm, organizations representing thousands of seniors, their families, workers in long-term care, and health care advocates across B.C. will be coming together to call for funding reform in long-term care.

“They demonstrate the strong support among the public for the urgent implementation of a provincial funding standard that ensures greater transparency and accountability for how contracted long-term care operators use public funds,” said Lisa Freeman, BC Health Coalition Co-chair.

Earlier this month, The Office of the Seniors Advocate released  Billions More Reasons to Care, a report exposing record profits being made by for-profit long-term care operators through the use of public funds. The report shows that for-profit long-term care operators receiving public funds doubled their profits over the last five years while at the same time failing to deliver hundreds of thousands of care hours for seniors. In fact, during that same period, for-profit operators made more than seven times the amount of surplus per bed compared to non-profit care operators receiving the same public funding.

The BC Health Coalition is calling for changes to the provincial funding model to require that public funds for long-term care be spent on direct care.

“Minister of Health Adrian Dix has previously committed to developing a funding model that ensures accountability for taxpayer dollars spent on long-term care,” said Usman Mushtaq, BC Health Coalition Coordinator. “The Senior Advocate’s report underscores the need for the B.C. government to develop and implement this standard funding model before more taxpayer dollars go into subsidizing profits.”

BC Health Coalition members and supporters will send postcards to Minister Dix over the following weeks, showing their support for fundamental reform of the funding model for the contracted long-term care sector.

The postcards will advance four recommendations for funding reform in the contracted long-term care sector:

• Require that funding for care be spent on care;
• Improve accuracy and transparency of reporting to keep operators accountable for publicly funded care hours;
• Ensure common employment conditions across the sector by standardizing wages, benefits and working conditions; and,
• Be co-developed with key stakeholders in the long-term care sector including workers and their unions, resident and family councils, and seniors organizations.

Funding reform ensures that we have a healthy and well-functioning long-term care system for seniors, their families, and workers.

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About the BC Health Coalition:

The BC Health Coalition is a provincial network of individuals and organizations from across B.C. who champion a strong public health care system. Together we advocate for evidence-based improvements to our public health care system, stimulate public education on health care issues, and drive positive change to our health care system through campaigns across the province.

For more information:

Usman Mushtaq

Coordinator, BC Health Coalition

604-379-3600 | [email protected]