Ontario Election 2025 – Home Care

Posted on by Anthony Quinn

Ontario is facing a deepening human resources crisis in home care worsened by the lasting impact of COVID-19. We simply don’t have enough staff to meet the home care needs of seniors. Recent data highlights that nearly 48,000 seniors are waiting for Long Term Care (LTC) placements in Ontario, putting immense pressure on health care services. As of 2021, approximately 1.6% of Canadians or about 475,000 individuals reported unmet home care needs. Although exact figures for unmet home care needs in 2024 are not yet available, prior trends suggest a portion of calls for home care services continue to go unanswered.

The solution is better home care:

  • Almost all Ontarians agree that they want to stay in their own home as they age.
  • Home care not only supports this preference but also saves the healthcare system money. Even for a person with the highest needs, home care costs an average of $103. Compare that to $201 per day in long-term care or approximately $730 per day in hospital. 

If Ontario is serious about addressing the healthcare crisis, investing in and expanding home care must be a priority. This approach will help seniors age in place, reduce strain on hospitals, and ultimately lead to a more sustainable and compassionate healthcare system.

CARP advocates for:

  • Ontario immediately recruits, trains, hires and retains tens of thousands of personal support workers and nurses to care for older adults in their own homes. 
  • We estimate that Ontario will need another 6,800 home care workers from 2024 to 2029 to maintain the status quo level of home care service with the increasing number of seniors in the upcoming years – about 650,000 in just 5 years. 
  • As part of that effort, Ontario must accelerate immigration and licensing for internationally-trained nurses and PSWs (Personal Support Workers).
  • Ontario should exempt home care services and other care services from HST, just as it exempts services provided by medical practitioners. Private health care can play an important role in supplementing the care provided by the provincial health care system.

While the Ontario government from June 2022- Jan 2025 has made significant investments in home care infrastructure, staff recruitment, and technology modernization, challenges remain in meeting the increasing demand for services. Legislative reforms and continued funding are crucial to building a resilient home care system that supports aging in place and reduces the strain on hospitals and long-term care facilities. It is important to note that the government has made great strides in enhancing home care services, including funding for nurse and PSW recruiting and training. The results of those investments are still to be seen, but the direction is very positive.

Government response to the ‘CARP 5’

Additional Home Care Funding

In March 2022, Ontario announced over $1 billion investment over 3 years to expand home and community care services. This funding was allocated to:

  • Expand the number of home care providers to meet growing demand.
  • Improve wages and benefits for home care workers to enhance retention and attract new talent.
  • Modernize service delivery through integrating digital technologies and improve patient outcomes. 

However, a public-detailed breakdown of spending has not been widely released. 

Recruitment and Retention Initiatives 

To address critical staffing shortages, Ontario has launched several initiatives:

  • “Learn and Stay” Grants (2023): Recruit more nurses in underserved communities. The program supports 1,500 nursing graduates annually with full tuition reimbursement.
  • Recognition of Foreign-Credentialed Professionals: Eliminates the requirement of Canadian work experience as a prerequisite for registration. This will facilitate faster integration of internationally trained healthcare workers. 
  • Wage Enhancements for PSWs: A permanent $2-3/hour wage increase.
  • Nursing Retention Incentives: $764 million was invested to provide Ontario’s nurses with a retention incentive of up to $5,000 per person.
  • Expansion of Medical Training: $142 million invested in the “Learn and Stay” grant and an increase of 455 medical school seats over 5 years.

Infrastructure and Technology Investments

To support the growing demand for healthcare services:

  • Hospital Infrastructure: Over $30 billion investment over 10 years to create 3,000 new hospital beds.
  • Digital Health Solutions: $124 million invested in digital options such as remote monitoring and virtual care.
  • Life Sciences Strategy: Ensure a stable domestic supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and critical medical supplies in Ontario.

While these investments mark significant progress, a public-detailed breakdown of expenditures has not been widely released.

BUDGET & POLICY HIGHLIGHTS 

Financial Investments

  • 2021-22: Ontario’s home and community care investment totalled $4.5 billion.
  • 2023: Reaffirmed commitment to “care at home” as part of community-based alternatives to hospital and institutional care.

Legislative Changes

  • Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022: It aims to streamline emergency responses and ensure that healthcare resources are efficiently allocated during pandemics and other emergencies.
  • Bill 175 – Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act, 2020: Restructured how home care services are delivered in Ontario. While the bill was passed in 2021, related regulations and operational changes continued to roll out through 2022. Key goals include:
    • Improved coordination between home care providers, primary care, and hospitals.
    • Enhanced patient experience by streamlining access to home care services.
  • Convenient Care at Home Act, 2023: If passed, Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) will manage home care services from 2025, consolidating 14 organizations into one entity: Ontario Health atHome.
    • In 2025, OHTs will integrate hospital, primary, home, and primary care. The government invested $10.3 million in 2023-2024 to support OHTs.

EMERGING CHALLENGES

Medical Supply Delays (2024-2025)

In September 2024, Ontario Health atHome launched new supply contracts to streamline the delivery of medical supplies. However, this led to delays in delivering essential medical supplies, particularly for palliative care patients, such as needles, IV kits, catheters, and wound care materials. Ontario Health atHome will reimburse any patient, caregiver, or family member who incurred out-of-pocket expenses due to supply shortages.