The NDP has no plans in its election platform to rewrite a funding formula introduced by the Liberal government in 2010 that increased fees for seniors in care homes.
The formula sets residential-care rate fees at 80 per cent of a person’s post-tax income.
At the time, the Liberal government said the funding formula change would save $53.7 million and would make care more affordable for the poorest seniors by raising rates for most.
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In his bid for the NDP leadership in 2011, Adrian Dix called the rate hike unfair and said that if he were premier, he would scrap the fee hikes and rework the funding formula.
But reversing the increases is not part of the NDP’s plan to add $254 million to health-care spending over the next three years, the party said this week.
Instead, it is focusing on ways to keep seniors in their homes and out of hospital, pledging $105 million over three years to improve home support and community care.
The NDP also said it would replace the seniors advocate the Liberal government announced this year with one who is more independent and effective. The cost would be $11 million over three years.
Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said the Liberals’ model — an independent officer comparable to a comptroller general and a provincial health officer — “is a very functional model” that is less expensive and expected to serve seniors well.
The Liberals say their budgeted $2.4-billion increase to health-care spending over three years keeps health-care spending growth to 2.6 per cent annually in the next few years. MacDiarmid said that includes increased funding for home support through the Liberals’ Home is Best program.
MacDiarmid said the difference is that the Liberals’ plan is part of a balanced budget.
