Long-term care means non-stop nickel-and-diming

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2024 (252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The grey tsunami is coming and baby boomers beware — living in long-term care is a huge financial burden.

Residents of long-term-care facilities are expected to contribute toward their costs. This daily fee is set annually by Manitoba Health. Everyone is assessed the highest rate, which is currently $101.10 a day (or $37,000 a year), and then the onus is on residents to apply for a reduction if they feel they are entitled to one.

There are strict parameters for reductions, and the policies are heavily skewed toward elderly and single elderly residents. People like me who are relatively young, and with a spouse living in the community, aren’t served well by the exemptions.

The appeal process involves a mountain of paperwork and takes, in some cases, years to complete. It’s extremely complicated, stressful and there is no guarantee of success.

In my case, we rolled the dice on three years of rates, choosing to pay the minimum fee in hopes of successfully appealing our assessed rate, the daily maximum.

Were we wrong. My husband and I were denied relief and are now in the process of repaying Manitoba Health about $55,000. I will die before I ever repay what I owe.

Many long-term care residents are constantly being nickel-and-dimed. We get gouged for things many people would consider essential, such as internet service.

In my building at Deer Lodge Centre, it’s Bell MTS or nothing for internet. There’s only one package to choose from, which is DSL (it’s the year 1997 here apparently). It’s slow and unreliable. It’s also $86 a month. It costs more than the high-speed internet at my husband’s condominium, which, coincidentally, is also provided by Bell MTS.

There’s no reason for this. It’s simply taking advantage of elderly, sick and disabled people who have no other option.

And forget about Wi-Fi. It only works on the main floor at Deer Lodge.

There are people living in long-term care who can’t afford quality hygiene items, such as shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Instead, they rely on an institutional no-rinse shampoo/body wash product that doesn’t lather and tangles your hair.

Is the health system so broke we can’t afford decent hygiene products and maybe some hair conditioner? I often donate hygiene items. My synagogue also collects things like Kleenex, toothpaste, body wash, lip balm, shampoo and conditioner for residents here. It’s sad we must do this.

Yes, residents have a $380 monthly allowance (set by the government), but they need a fair amount of discretionary money. You want your facility to do your laundry? That’s extra. Need medication not covered by the pharmacy or your personal insurance? That comes out of your pocket.

Haircuts, foot, dental and eye care, wheelchairs, mobility aids and any special food you may want? You guessed it. Your pocket.

Those are necessities, not luxuries.

It doesn’t include money for reading materials, hobbies or other interests, which coincides with cuts to recreational programming. It doesn’t include a cellphone, tablet, TV or gifts.

Nor does it include your spouse’s expenses, who may be paying for parking to come visit and, if they are spending a lot of time at the facility, shelling out for food and drink.

It’s not fair that just because you’re living in long-term care, you can never again afford to buy things simply for enjoyment. Or afford to give your granddaughter a birthday present.

It’s punitive. Being in care is hard enough. We are entitled to things that bring us enjoyment. We’re still people.

Manitobans pay some of the highest per-diem rates in Canada. We’re supposed to get 3.6 hours of care per day. Few people do though, because there’s not enough staff. Yet residents still pay, regardless of how many hours of care they receive. There’s absolutely no accountability.

Government knows this is happening, and it also knows 3.6 hours is not enough time — the national standard is 4.1 hours — but there’s little will to improve this. I resent paying for care I am not receiving. It’s irrelevant to the government because I can’t opt to go somewhere else. They have a monopoly on long-term care.

Long-term care isn’t really a choice for most people. It’s often the culmination of years of health issues and progressive decline, making it the only place left to go.

It’s a misnomer calling them the “golden years.” It’s a slap in the face that people who worked hard their entire lives have to spend their final months struggling, paying for care they aren’t receiving, and are left unable to afford things most people don’t think twice about buying.

I don’t need to say anything more about owing $55,000 to Manitoba Health. But I will say I’ll never appeal another rate again. It’s too traumatic. The appeal board both gaslighted and deeply offended me. And there’s no other place to turn — the appeal board’s decision is final.

It’s kind of like a person’s financial freedom once they get panelled for long-term care: it too is finished.

Shawna (Shoshana) Forester Smith is a chronically ill, disabled Ojibwa writer and health-care advocate who lives on a chronic-care unit at Deer Lodge Centre.

shawna.forestersmith@freepress.mb.ca