Private long-term care centres in Quebec are running out of funding

Residents watch television at a seniors residence Friday, March 12, 2021 in Laval, Quebec. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Private long-term care centres in Quebec will soon reach a breaking point: their agreement with the government does not cover the rapid rise in expenses, and if nothing is done by March 31, the establishments will be in a deficit.

They recently asked for special funding of $25 million for the last few weeks of the financial year, but the Coalition Avenir Québec government did not respond.

The association representing these establishments suggested that 1,200 of the 7,600 beds could be axed for lack of funding.

A meeting scheduled for last week with the Minister responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger, was postponed due to her schedule until mid-March.

For Annick Lavoie, executive director of the Association des établissements privés conventionnés (AEPC), time is running out and action is urgently needed.

“It’s stressful, because after March 31, the institutions will be in the red,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

“The notion of urgency may not be the same for everyone, and if we’re telling you now, if we’re sounding the alarm, it’s because we need to.”

The association would like to submit its demands in preparation for the tabling of the provincial budget in the coming weeks, but Lavoie fears that all the decisions have already been taken without her members having had a chance to make themselves heard.

“I imagine that the government has room to manoeuvre; it’s not over until it’s over,” she said.

“We need to sit down with the government to review the funding rules,” because right now, “the whole model (of private long-term care centres under agreement) is in jeopardy, the establishments are in jeopardy,” she added.

This is because the agreement with the government, renewed each year, does not cover the high annual inflation that has persisted since the pandemic.

The AEPC estimates the gap between expenditure and envelopes allocated by the government to fulfil its mission is at 12 per cent. The association is calling for indexation in line with the Consumer Price Index.

It is also calling for the return of longer-term funding agreements, over five or six years, as was the case before 2015, to provide greater predictability.

“We wouldn’t have to cry for help every year because we’ve perpetuated an efficient model,” Lavoie pleaded.

This is the third time in three years that AEPC has asked for additional assistance at the very end of the year, a sign that the issue is a recurring one. The organization had obtained $15 million in previous years.

According to data provided by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, Quebec will pay total net funding of $1.063 billion in 2024-2025 to the 71 private CHSLDs under agreement, including establishments that have recently been approved and that are not part of the association.

The current agreement has three components: a clinical component, a real estate component and a component for operating expenses.

The government is paying $378.4 million for this last component, but it is heavily in deficit, according to the AEPC. It covers administrative staff, maintenance staff, operating expenses, food, heating, and so on.

The building component is also insufficient, according to the AEPC. It amounts to $41.7 million, and some owners are having difficulty paying their municipal taxes.

AEPC has 29 owner-managers representing 65 establishments and facilities, including two rehabilitation hospitals.

Private long-term care centres under agreement are private companies that provide a public service within parameters defined by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

The monthly rates paid by residents are the same in private long-term care centres under agreement as in long-term care centres run by the province.

This story by The Canadian Press was first published in French March 4, 2025.