Innovative reforms are needed to prepare for the coming surge in demand for long-term care services from aging babyboomers, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Long-Term Care for the Elderly: Challenges and Policy Options,” authors Ake Blomqvist and Colin Busby recommend methods to fairly divide costs between care recipients and taxpayers, and to get more value for money.
“Reforms should improve efficiency, by reducing waiting lists for beds and enhancing patient choice,” said Blomqvist. “As we see it that means steering more government funds directly to patients, in the form of cash or vouchers, as in the Nordic countries and France, and letting patients choose among home care, private care or waiting for a bed in government-subsidized long-term care facilities.”
