IMPROVING LONG TERM CARE IN CANADA
Keywords:
long term care, home care, insurance, palliative care, seniorsAbstract
Within the next 20 years we will see a drastic increase in the number of seniors, which will make up more than 25% of our population (Statistics Canada projection 2014). This will lead to a significant pressure for improved geriatric health care needs. Although the Canadian Government faces many challenges in trying to balance budgets amongst infrastructure, other social welfares the government needs as well as healthcare, this incoming societal change requires us to subsidize elder care. Beyond health care, reduction of income upon retirement also interferes with the basic needs of life. We need stronger social welfare services for the elderly in Canada. We must expand income assistance for seniors beyond OAIS (Tridelta Financial 2014), the CPP (Government of Canada 2017), and guaranteed income supplement. Although these assistance programs are extremely beneficial to niche senior groups, in the future, we will be seeing a rise in number of seniors in every economic class which will require broader infrastructural improvements. This article will outline how the Canadian Government should expand their social welfare program and medical coverage for the health of seniors to: improve long term care insurance availability, expand at home care funding, and make specialty, palliative and primary care more accessible/affordable.References
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