At least two private B.C. retirement homes will stop offering government-subsidized beds, a potentially problematic pattern at a time when the population is aging and more seniors are struggling with affordability. Read More
Dozens of government-subsidized beds at retirement homes in North Vancouver and on Vancouver Island are switching to a full-cost model, a worrisome trend when many seniors are struggling with affordability.
Dozens of government-subsidized beds at retirement homes in North Vancouver and on Vancouver Island are switching to a full-cost model, a worrisome trend when many seniors are struggling with affordability.
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At least two private B.C. retirement homes will stop offering government-subsidized beds, a potentially problematic pattern at a time when the population is aging and more seniors are struggling with affordability.
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Thirty-one subsidized assisted-living beds in a North Vancouver home, plus another 30 in a Qualicum Beach residence, will no longer be offered at a lower rate. They will instead revert to full price, which can cost thousands more a month — an unrealistic expense for many fixed-income pensioners.
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“This may be just the beginning of something that might become a trend, unfortunately,” said B.C. seniors advocate Dan Levitt. “It’s critically important that before the baby boomers hit 90, which is about a 10-year window, we’ve got to make sure we have the kind of investment that’s needed so situations like this are less frequent.”
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Not only does the B.C. government have to maintain the existing number of low-cost beds for elderly residents, it also must fund more of them, Levitt argued.
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That’s because seniors are expected to represent nearly one out of every three British Columbians a decade from now. And many cite cost of living as a top concern, as almost one-quarter of Metro Vancouver’s homeless population is over age 55.
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The association that represents private care homes says some operators have been forced to discontinue offering affordable beds because government subsidies haven’t kept pace with rising prices for food, mortgages, insurance and other expenses.
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“It’s just become unaffordable for people to provide that form of housing under the current model,” said Terry Lake, CEO of the B.C. Care Providers Association. “A segment of the population will be able to afford private care … but not everyone is in that situation, and so we need affordable options for people and the only way you can do that is through a government-subsidized system.”
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In an email, the Health Ministry said it monitors changes to assisted living suites, and that health authorities work with private operators to explore the possibility of purchasing additional units.
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The email didn’t answer our questions about increasing the subsidies, replacing the beds in North Van and Qualicum Beach, or if other retirement homes in B.C. had ended subsidy agreements.
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On the online platform Reddit, somebody recently posted that their 92-year-old father, who has lived in a subsidized room in North Van’s Churchill House retirement residence for four years, was recently told that the subsidy program would end.
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His monthly fee will go up by $3,000, which the anonymous poster said he can’t pay. “He would simply not be able to afford a place to live in the Lower Mainland,” the post said.
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Chartwell, the company that owns Churchill House, said in a statement that its subsidy contract with Vancouver Coastal Health had “reached its end” and all 31 beds would now be rented at market rates.
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Residents will get up to 24 months to move. Chartwell is trying to make this “as smooth and supportive as possible” by working with government agencies to explore alternative housing options, said spokeswoman Mary Perrone Lisi.
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Chartwell has other homes in B.C., but none with subsidized beds, she added.
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The Qualicum Beach retirement home still has about seven residents left, of the 30 who were paying for subsidized beds, as the operator works with Island Health to move them into long-term care facilities or other options, Lake said.
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He knows of other private homes that are considering a similar retreat from subsidized beds for financial reasons.
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B.C. needs “a much more robust funding formula” so private operators don’t opt out of subsidized programs because they can do better in the private market, Levitt said.
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“We’re at a bit of a turning point here,” he said. “We’re falling behind right now in the proportion of long-term care beds and assisted living as the senior population grows.”
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The government subsidized 4,342 assisted living beds in 2024, an increase of two per cent since 2019. But over that time, the number of seniors 85 or older — the age at which many require assisted living — grew five times as fast, a report by Levitt found.
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Waiting lists for subsidized assisted living units increased by more than a third over that period, while the number of subsidized units per senior decreased by 15 per cent.
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Subsidized assisted living residents typically contribute 70 per cent of their monthly income to the cost of their room. The median amount a B.C. senior paid for one of these beds last year was $1,364 per month, Levitt’s report says, much lower than what they would pay for a non-subsidized room.
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With many private beds priced at $5,000 or more a month, Lake argued what the government currently pays to supplement the client’s contribution “is not nearly enough to recover costs.”
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Lake said his organization has rung the warning bell but claims government action was stalled leading into last fall’s election and little has been done since.
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B.C. Housing, which provides the financial subsidies to care homes, didn’t respond to Postmedia’s questions by deadline.
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