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Ontario
Cuts Fee Increases Planned for Nursing Homes May 30, 2003 The Ontario
government has reversed a contentious plan to hike nursing home fees by $2
a day beginning July 1, scaling back the hike to $1.16 a day instead. The move comes
a year after the Conservative government of Premier Ernie Eves sparked an
uproar among Ontario's seniors after it quietly approved a 15 per cent
hike in daily accommodation fees for nursing home residents. Then, after
weeks of intense political pressure, the Tories announced they would phase
in the "necessary" increase over three years, with the largest
portion of the jump — or $3 a day — taking effect last July and
$2-a-day increases kicking in July, 2003, and July, 2004. The money goes
directly to the nursing homes, but the rates are set by the provincial
government, which subsidizes the cost. Yesterday, Eves
said his government has changed its position again and will lower the next
two planned hikes to keep pace with cost-of-living-increases awarded to
seniors through Old Age Security. "To
provide a measure of certainty for seniors in long-term-care facilities,
the co-payment increase for next year as well will be the same as the rate
of inflation," Eves said during a visit to a west-end nursing home.
The move is the latest in a stream of "senior-friendly"
announcements aimed at shoring up the elderly vote in Ontario in advance
of a provincial election. Other moves include eliminating mandatory
retirement and refunding seniors for the education portion of their
property tax bills. This latest
move will see the current daily rate for basic accommodation in a
four-person ward jump from $47.51 to $48.67, while a private room will
cost $66.67 per day. Long-term Care
Minister Dan Newman was at odds to explain how a measure he defended so
vigorously just one year ago as essential could in turn be reversed so
quickly. At that time, Newman said the increase was needed so the province
could divert more money towards nursing and personal care in
long-term-care facilities. The move will
cost the province $11.6 million a year — money Newman said is part of a
$100-million budget increase for long-term-care facilities in the
province. The specific cost of this move was not listed in the recent
provincial budget. NDP critic
Shelley Martel said if the government was serious about helping seniors it
would address last year's fee hike, which was three times the rate of
inflation. Donna Rubin,
president of the Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for
Seniors, welcomed news of the reduction in fees. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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