Pie in the sky

If you’re a millennial, or middle-aged – in other words, a senior-to-be – then do your future self a favour, and start advocating for some of these policies. It won’t be easy, you’ll come into conflict with some powerful business interests, but you’re going to want these policies in place when you’re a senior. I’m not greedy; I’ve kept the list short.

• Protect company pensions. Remember what happened to Sears pensioners? Sears had underfunded their pension plan. Then when they went bankrupt, whatever money they had went to their investors, and the pensioners got shafted. Insolvency legislation in Canada is not fair, balanced or equal when it comes to dealing with pensioners. Other creditors can negotiate terms to protect their interests, but pensioners can’t. So far, politicians have not agreed to force companies to fund their pension plans adequately or to move pensioners up in the queue on the creditor priority list.
• Make extended healthcare affordable. Think of all those items not covered by OHIP: eyeglasses, hearing aids, dental care, mobility devices. Seniors need those things, and they’re all expensive. Unless you were a teacher or a government employee, you’re on the hook for all these costs when you retire. Insurance companies rig the system so that, for most seniors, the cost of the premiums is about the same as or more than the cost of the service. I went looking for research into the gap between the premiums people pay and the benefits they get paid back to them. In 2011, the most recent year I saw mentioned, Canadians were getting 74 cents for every dollar they paid. That’s down from 92 cents in 1991. Private insurance should be replaced with public alternatives, or there should be new stringent regulations imposed on the private insurance sector so that we get better value.
• Build more not-for-profit long term care homes. Research has shown repeatedly that the quality of care is better in not-for-profit homes. They have lower mortality and hospitalization rates, and offer more hours of care per resident per day. But that’s not what we’re building. In Ontario, 60% of long term care homes are for-profit. Long term care is funded on a cost-shared basis with residents. Instead of using Ministry of Health money to fund private profits, we should be ensuring that all those public dollars are invested in quality care. Long term care homes should be run by local governments and not-for-profit groups.
• Restore OHIP coverage for physiotherapy, chiropractic and eye examinations. In 2004, the Ontario government cut back OHIP coverage of physiotherapy, chiropractic, and some eye examinations. The impact of these cuts falls disproportionately on low-income seniors. These are services that help seniors recover from surgery and keep us functioning in the community. The OHIP physiotherapy clinics that are now offered to seniors provide only short group sessions, and are not a substitute for patient-centred care. These cuts were unjustified and should be reversed.