How are we calculating cost and savings for long-term care? - 2024 08 07

 If the cost of operating a long-term care bed was reported to be $75,000 per year in 2017 dollars (Gibbard, n.d.), what is that cost today?

If we were to calculate the cost of operating a long-term care bed in a family home, what would that operating cost be today?

Once we know what these two cost scenarios are likely to be, we can finally figure out the best way to organize, manage and administer our national need for long-term care beds and our overwhelming desire to avoid having to move into an institution for our final years.

At present, the cost of operating a long-term care bed in a family home is unknown because it has not been adequately studied, measured, qualified and reported. There are currently no systems in place to ensure the cost of operating a long-term care bed in a family home is sufficiently resourced to ensure a sustainable care operation. 

In a recent post on LinkedIn, there was an extensive flurry of comments to a post about the work being done by family caregivers to operate a long-term care bed in their home. This is the work, in terms of Time and Materials, that family caregivers are contributing to the health care economy. How are we calculating to cost and savings for long-term care?

Gibbard, R. (n.d.). Sizing Up the Challenge. Meeting the Demand for Long-Term Care in Canada.