Thank you very much, Chair, for the opportunity to present as you prepare for next year's federal budget.
It's no secret that Canada's population is aging more rapidly than ever before and that this trend will have widespread implications for different aspects of our society. Finance Canada recognized this demographic shift in its 2012 report, entitled “Economic and Fiscal Implications of Canada's Aging Population”, and the effects it will have on labour force growth and public finances with the ratio of seniors to working-age Canadians expected to nearly double by 2032. Already patients who are aged 65 and over account for nearly half of Canada's health care spending. Seniors also face challenges accessing health services across the continuum of care, despite most provinces already having seniors care strategies in place. These challenges are only intensifying.
Canadians echo these concerns. The CMA released a public opinion poll in August that found that 95% of baby boom Canadians aged 45 and over believe we need a national strategy for seniors care, and 90% believe a seniors strategy would improve the overall health care system.
As a physician, I wholeheartedly echo those concerns. Take the situation you will find in hospitals across the country on any given day—the high number of alternate level of care, or ALC, patients. I'm referring to patients, many of them seniors, suffering from dementia and other chronic conditions who remain in hospital beds when they should be elsewhere because we don't have sufficient long-term care infrastructure or home care assistance for them. In my hospital today there are 55 ALC patients. The patient I was going to operate on tomorrow was cancelled a couple of hours ago. The entire hospital is shut down with no elective activity happening and no transfers coming in from the region.
One day of care for a patient in a hospital clocks in at $1,000. By contrast, one day in a long-term care facility costs $130 and one day of home care is about $55. If we were to move all the ALC patients from their hospital beds to more appropriate care, we estimate that the system would save $2.3 billion per year. That's just one example of how a national seniors strategy can lead to smarter spending and a more effective health care system overall.
We need to realize the critical role of informal caregivers—the backbone of any health care or social care system. Statistics Canada released a study just last week reporting that 1.9 million young Canadians are providing care to the sick and elderly: that's 27% of the population between the ages of 15 and 29. We must ensure that these caregivers receive sufficient public support to override the significant risks they face in relation to economic costs, lower productivity, and impacts on the labour market.
Finance Canada's 2012 report recognized the need to act early to prepare for the shift ahead, to put in place policies to help strengthen the Canadian economy and not reduce services or cut benefits for seniors down the line. It's not hard to do the math on what this demographic trend could do to the health care system in the not-too-distant future, so it's not hard to understand why the CMA is recommending that the federal government provide targeted funding to support the development of a national strategy for seniors, one that integrates home care, hospitals, hospices, and long-term care facilities into the continuum.
Canadian doctors believe there's a strategic opportunity, in this era of fiscal surplus, to invest in our seniors. This investment will benefit not only Canadians in need today but also generations to come. If we can improve the way we care for our seniors, we'll go a long way to creating a high-performing health care system for all Canadians.
I'd be pleased to take questions at your discretion.