Issue link: http://clhia.uberflip.com/i/354914
7 and provided them with support in the home, the savings would be an additional $62 billion. Together, structural reform to ensure long-term care patients are no longer cared for in acute care hospitals and that those that can, receive support in the home, would save governments just over $139 billion over the next 35 years. These savings to governments could be reinvested in a variety of long-term care initiatives to close the remaining funding shortfall while enhancing patient care. This approach does not require additional funding from governments over what is already committed to. Embarking on fundamental structural reform, therefore, will not only improve patient care, but will provide meaningful fiscal capacity to governments. These savings can then be earmarked towards other important initiatives to achieving a high quality and sustainable long-term care infrastructure in Canada going forward. We outline a series of suggested initiatives in the subsequent sections of this paper. Recommendation The CLHIA recommends the federal and provincial and territorial governments set a target to eliminate the backlog of Canadians in acute care hospital bed waiting for long-term care facilities and a target of transitioning 20 per cent of those in long-term care facilities to a more appropriate home care setting over the next decade in order to generate savings which can then be reinvested into the long- term care system. 17 2. ENCOURAGING CANADIANS TO SAVE FOR LONG-TERM CARE While there has been growing media and government attention in recent years to help educate Canadians about the need to save for retirement, there has not been a commensurate focus on long- term care. 18 Furthermore, retirement planning generally focuses on maintaining a similar quality of life in retirement that one has maintained throughout his or her working years. In this regard, retirement needs are often estimated based on a percentage of income (e.g., 60 or 70 per cent) with the expectation that expenses will be lower in retirement (e.g., this may include assuming that a mortgage is no longer required and that expenses related to work are eliminated). Notably, when planning for retirement all too often long-term care needs, including the costs, are not considered. As a result, Canadians face a real and significant risk of not being financially prepared for the long-term care they will need in the future. Clearly the sooner Canadians understand their liability and put plans in place to deal with their possible long-term care costs the better. There are existing incentives in the Tax Act to save for the future. However, they are currently being under-utilized and, as noted above, Canadians have not adequately prepared financially for their potential long-term care costs. Action is required. It is important to recognize that only a minority of Canadians will require long-term care through their old age. As a result, potential long-term care costs are an insurable risk and best addressed through an insurance approach. 17 A list of all recommendations contained in this paper is set out in Annex 2. 18 Examples of government initiatives on pensions include measures in 1997 to put the Canada Pension Plan on sound footing and the introduction of federal legislation for Pooled Registered Pension Plans in 2011.