Seniors living in B.C. care homes are ushering in the New Year with unease. As of Jan. 1, as many as three quarters of them are paying an extra five per cent of their income to fees.
The hike comes a year after another five per cent rate increase implemented last New Year's.
Seniors' advocate Sylvia MacLeay says even though the government is leaving elderly citizens at least $275 for expenses each month, it's not enough.
"They're paying for Kleenex, they're paying for toothpaste, they're paying for all the little things you think might be provided," she said.
Some are also paying for costly medication. NDP Health Critic Adrian Dix called the latest hike a "$54-million cash grab" from "the most frail seniors in society."
Dix blasted the government for providing what he describes as the worst senior care in the country.
"We need to raise care standards," he said. "And we need to ensure that residential care rates are fair, and there's nothing fair about what's happened here."
The health services minister was not available for comment Saturday, but a statement from the ministry asserts seniors had plenty of notice about the fee hike, and that the lowest-income seniors will not be affected.
Dix says those with a before-tax income of $22,000 will be forced to pay $2,000 extra between this and last year's increases.
MacLeay urged baby boomers who feel prepared for retirement to think twice – most of the seniors affected by the latest rate hike once thought they'd saved enough, too.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Penny Daflos
