CLHIA-ACCAP

Investing in Canada's Health and Prosperity 4 IMPROVING THE ACCESSIBILITY, QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF LONG‐TERM CARE IN CANADA INTRODUCTION With the aging of Canada's population, addressing the challenges facing long‐term care is a critically important policy issue. On June 21, 2012, the CLHIA released a public policy paper that examines the challenges Canada faces with respect to long‐ term care over the next 35 years as the baby boomers pass through old age. The report is available online at www.clhia.ca/longtermcare. Conservatively, we estimate that the cost in current dollars of providing long‐term care over this timeframe is almost $1.2 trillion and that, nationally, current government programs and funding will only cover about half of this. The resulting $590 billion funding shortfall is the equivalent of about 95% of all individual registered savings plans in Canada today. Unless action is taken now, baby boomers will not have access to the long‐term care they will want and need. OUR PROPOSALS To address this shortfall, while also enhancing patient care, our policy paper sets out the following key recommendations: Encourage Canadians to save for long‐term care by introducing a non‐ refundable 15% federal tax credit on the premiums of qualified long‐term care insurance. Embark on aggressive structural reform to allow more individuals to stay in their homes longer and to move individuals out of hospitals and into long‐term care facilities where appropriate. Doing so will save roughly $140 billion, which can then be reinvested in policies like a tax credit. Implement a patient‐centred long‐term care system which would improve the patient experience and create value for services by aligning incentives for providers to innovate to meet patient needs. Restructure the system to remove institutional silos in order to allow individuals to seamlessly transition along the continuum of care as their needs change. Leverage the private and public sectors to ensure that sufficient capacity of long‐term care facilities, health care professionals, informal care, and volunteerism is put in place. Governments should support more health and wellness promotion policies and provide more direct assistance as a means to encourage the healthy aging of Canadians. The Canadian life and health insurance industry stands ready to play an important role in supporting governments, stakeholders and Canadians in reforming the long‐term care system in Canada.

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