WHEREAS the medical health care coverage covers the cost of fees for palliative care within acute care facilities but not within residential care facilities; AND WHEREAS many palliative care patients are serviced through residential care facilities due, in part, to the limited availability of palliative care beds within acute care facilities and are then burdened by the inequity of being billed for costs associated with palliative care that other families experiencing the same traumatic circumstances are not required to bear: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the provincial government to ensure that the costs of palliative care are the same in residential care facilities as they are in acute facilities.
Ministry of Health Services The Ministry of Health Services, in conjunction with the health authorities, is committed to delivering high quality hospice palliative end-of-life care as an integral part of the health care system. The goal is to ensure that palliative clients and their families have appropriate access to a range of quality hospice palliative end-of-life care services in a variety of settings in the community when needed most. The cost for palliative care is fully paid for by the Province. It is important to note that there is a per diem fee for the cost of room and board to clients receiving palliative care in a home-like setting such as residential care. Clients receiving palliative care in an acute care setting i.e. the hospital are not charged a per diem rate. It is important to understand that Home and Community Care services are not insured services under the Canada Health Act, whereas Hospital services are. Individuals who receive hospice palliative care services in publicly subsidized hospice beds pay the lowest residential care rate 29.40 per diem which may be partially or fully waived in cases of significant hardship. No one who needs palliative care in a residential care setting will be turned away. For this reason, the per diem is not viewed as a barrier to hospice palliative care.