Fees for long-term care facilities for seniors and people with disabilities in Alberta will be going up seven per cent as of Nov. 1.
The Alberta government announced the increase Thursday, saying the fee hike was needed to address higher costs.
The fees cover the expense of providing accommodations and services such as meals, housekeeping, utilities and building maintenance.
"We are taking the needed steps to make sure that long-term care operators can continue providing quality accommodation services, and that low-income seniors and persons with disabilities who reside in long-term care facilities will be able to afford their accommodation fees," Mary Anne Jablonski, Minister of Seniors and Community Supports, said in a release.
The increase will raise the maximum accommodation fee to:
- $54.25 for a private room, an increase of $3.50 per day.
- $47.00 for a semi-private room, an increase of $3.00 per day.
- $44.50 for a standard ward room, an increase of $3.00 per day.
The government said the fee increase is expected to give operators more than $17 million annually for increased costs for labour, supplies, food and utilities. The fees were last increased in 2007.
Diane Nielsen, of the Alberta Continuing Care Association, said a lack of funding has meant long-term care centres have not been able to do as good a job as they would like to do.
"A lot of them have had to refuse admissions because they just didn't have the workers," Neilsen said.
"They couldn't pay the workers, so they've been struggling. They've cut back — the food isn't as it should be — and they have been struggling considerably. The staff is overworked."
Nielsen said the government should be basing increases on an annual review of real costs.
