Seniors Get Nursing Home Help

Seniors in Nova Scotia who need nursing-home care will keep more assets to help their spouses and families at home and will have less paperwork and anxiety in the application and assessment process. Changes announced today, Nov. 22, are effective Nov. 1.

"This is one step of many we are taking to help seniors," said Health Minister Jamie Muir. "We are making the transition to nursing homes easier and simpler for seniors and their families in response to the concerns we have heard from them."

The improvements announced today mean:

• Life insurance; family cottages; land such as farms, wood lots or other land outside a family home; contributions to registered education savings plans; and a family car will no longer be considered as assets to help cover the cost of a person's nursing-home care. These are in addition to items that are already exempt.

• Seniors will be able to leave up to $25,000 to their spouse or dependent children living at home, or both. This gives the person at home peace of mind, knowing they have additional assets for security.

• The look-back period is reduced to two years from three. The new two-year look-back period is the same as Prince Edward Island's. New Brunswick's look-back period is up to five years.

• A family home is automatically exempt. This means that no one will have to fill out a form to exempt their home from the list of assets that can help cover the cost of their nursing-home care.

"Today we are building on the progress we have made to date, offering more peace of mind and more financial security for a spouse and a senior's family," the minister said. "The government is investing about $2 million this year as part of our ongoing commitment to improve services for seniors."

The minister noted that this announcement brings Nova Scotia closer to the day when government can cover the health-care cost portion of nursing-home costs.

"Meeting the needs of seniors continues to be a high priority for me and the government," said Mr. Muir. "We are moving forward reasonably and responsibly, balancing a variety of people's needs in health care as we work toward a longer-term solution for seniors."

In April, Mr. Muir presented to the Romanow Commission his concern that funding for nursing-home care is not covered by the Canada Health Act.

"We were very clear in our presentation to Mr. Romanow. The cost of care outside hospitals must be a priority in federal government funding to the provinces. Today, with the Romanow Commission on the brink of recommending reform to health care in Canada, it is reasonable for us to hear what Mr. Romanow has to say first before we go forward with a significant change."

The Department of Health now covers the health-care costs of more than 80 per cent of seniors in nursing homes, or about 4,400 people. More than $34 million would be required to take over payment of the health-care portion of nursing home costs for the 20 per cent of seniors, or 1,100 people, now affected.

Improvements in providing quality care to seniors since 1999 include making it easier for people to connect with either home care or nursing-home care through a 1-800 number, improvements to home care totalling more than $30 million and the addition of more than $23 million this year alone to nursing homes for staff training and better living areas for residents.

People can call 1-800-225-7225 or visit the Department of Health Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/health/ccs , for more information on these improvements.