Four years ago, at age 84, my dad survived a severe stroke. The downside is that during his hospital stay this otherwise fit person was put on a drug regimen and has been taking nine prescription drugs a day ever since.
Are wait times for hip replacements in Canada justified — or could they be shortened? I spent my life teaching actuarial science at a university. As a result, I calculated lots of numbers: averages, expected values, variances. But, they were only numbers. What I didn’t see was the individual human story behind each calculation. […]
Pension reform continues to hold interest across the country, especially given the willingness of the federal Conservatives to at least talk about expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
The phenomenon is not exactly marginal: according to a recently released government report, one in every three workers in Canada is assisting a chronically disabled person — many of them seniors — with transportation, household maintenance or day-to-day tasks.
The Conservative government has announced it would like to have a dialogue with Canadians about a potential expansion of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). While this, in itself, is a purely political action — since it commits the government to nothing — it is worth looking at what the possible outcomes might be.
Will the cost of senior care in Canada one day break the bank? Probably not, contrary to common perceptions.
Most people hope to be able to age in their own home. But seniors and their families don’t always have that choice. Four health care policy experts, Dr. Ivy Bourgeault, Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, Dr. Neena Chappell and Dr. Michel Grignon, believe it is time to rethink the philosophy behind long term care in Canada.
