PBS News Hour

Oh yeah, the US is definitely ridiculous, which is why so many up there are looking for alternatives. Just surprised by the France numbers.

I was happily surprised too because if it had been more than my mother could afford we kids would have had to pay since we all owned a house..

I busted my pelvis and spent 4 weeks in a rehab place here. It was considerably above a retirement home with medical care available 24/7. The total tab with some medical tests and drugs was $1600.

It was basically a small 2 room apartment and they watched over me constantly. If I got out of bed at night within a couple of minutes someone showed up to check on me.

I'd hate to think what that would cost NOB

juanrey wrote:John Simmons, who was interviewed for the piece, lives in Abbeyfield and is a friend of mine.  I've gone over to see him and he has a very nice little apartment with kitchen and patio area.  It's just perfect for a single person.  He pays 16,000 pesos per month and that includes 3 meals per day, internet, phone and utilities.  He stated in the interview "slightly more than $ 1,000 USD / month".  
That is considerably cheaper than any independent living facility up north.  Which was the point of the piece.

In Vancouver you would pay $3000 to $5000 CDN per month for this.

Watched the video and really liked it. I'll be one of those "guests". I wonder if that lap pool at Abbeyfield is heated? How would I like my eggs? Real, nutritious food - damn, count me in. Thanks PBS.

Bob, sadly to say, I think you're lowballing. The swanky place on W 12th near Arbutus starts at $5000 for what Abbeyfield seems to offer minus the daily SYSCO delivery of unhealthy crap. Interestingly, you guys are already in that biz, as per your client profiles - just younger geezers. Jajaja. Transitioning.

CanuckBob wrote:

juanrey wrote:John Simmons, who was interviewed for the piece, lives in Abbeyfield and is a friend of mine.  I've gone over to see him and he has a very nice little apartment with kitchen and patio area.  It's just perfect for a single person.  He pays 16,000 pesos per month and that includes 3 meals per day, internet, phone and utilities.  He stated in the interview "slightly more than $ 1,000 USD / month".  
That is considerably cheaper than any independent living facility up north.  Which was the point of the piece.

In Vancouver you would pay $3000 to $5000 CDN per month for this.

Ah yes, but this would be for private accommodations. The province of British Columbia provides both Assisted living at the rate of 70% of after tax income, and Long Term Residential Care provided at 80%of after tax income as follows. Also note that the minimum charge is based on the Old Age Pension plus supplement which every low-income senior Canadian resident in BC receives:

A

Is there a cost for long-term residential care services?

If you receive publicly subsidized long-term residential care services, you will pay a monthly rate of up to 80 per cent of your after tax income towards the cost of housing and hospitality services, subject to a minimum and maximum monthly rate. Your monthly rate is calculated based on your “after tax income” (as defined in the Continuing Care Fees Regulation) in one of two ways:

If your after tax income is less than $19,500 per year, your monthly rate is calculated as your after tax income less $3,900 and divided by 12 (Formula A).

Note: The $3,900 deduction ($325 per month X 12 months) is set to ensure that most clients have at least $325 of income remaining per month after paying their monthly rate.

If your after tax income is equal to or greater than $19,500 per year, your monthly rate is calculated as your after tax income multiplied by 80 per cent and divided by 12 (Formula B).

For more information on how your after tax income is calculated, please see:

Continuing Care Fees Regulation
Hospital Insurance Act Regulations (Division 8)

The minimum monthly rate is adjusted each year based on changes to the Old Age Security/Guaranteed Income Supplement (OAS/GIS) rate as of July 1 of the previous year. For 2015, the minimum monthly rate for a client receiving long-term residential care services is $991.20 per month.

If you and your spouse are sharing a room in a residential care facility and are both in receipt of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefit at the married rate, your monthly rate will be calculated based on your after tax income, subject to a minimum and maximum monthly rate. For 2015, the minimum monthly rate for a couple sharing a room and both in receipt of the GIS benefit at the married rate is $736.00 per month per person.

The maximum client rate is adjusted each year based on changes to the Consumer Price Index over the previous year. For 2015, the maximum monthly rate for a client receiving long-term residential care services is $3,157.50 per month.

For more general information on the costs of publicly subsidized home and community care services in B.C., please see:

Who Pays for Care?

If payment of your assessed monthly rate would cause you or your family serious financial hardship, you may apply to your health authority for a temporary reduction of your monthly rate. For more information, please see "What if I cannot afford my assessed monthly rate?”, below.
What if I cannot afford my assessed monthly rate?

If you are receiving long-term residential care services and payment of your assessed monthly rate would cause you or your family serious financial hardship, you may be eligible for a reduced rate.

Serious financial hardship means that payment of your assessed monthly rate would result in you (or your spouse, if applicable) being unable to pay for:

adequate food;
monthly mortgage/rent;
sufficient home heat;
prescribed medication; or
other required prescribed health care services.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply for a temporary rate reduction of your monthly rate, please see:

Temporary Reduction of Your Client Rate

What optional services can I choose to pay for in addition to my monthly rate?

Residential care service providers may also offer you optional equipment, products, and services in addition to those that are included as part of your residential care services. If you choose to receive any of these optional services, you may be required to pay an additional fee over and above your monthly rate. These optional services may include:

personal cable connection and monthly fee;
personal telephone connection and basic services;
nutrition supplements, where the client requests a specific commercial brand rather than the brand provided by the service provider;
personal newspaper, magazines and periodicals;
hearing aids and batteries, including replacement batteries;
personal transportation;
extra or optional craft supplies, entertainment and recreational activities that are additional to activities and supplies provided as benefits above, and are chosen by the client;
an administration or handling fee associated with the service, where reasonable, to perform a task or service that would normally be the client’s responsibility;
purchase or rental of equipment that is for the exclusive use of the client (e.g., walker, wheelchair, crutches, canes or other devices, and maintenance as required);
companion services;
personal dry cleaning or laundry services for items requiring special attention; and
personal hygiene and grooming supplies that the client chooses in preference to general supplies provided by the service provider including:

- facial tissue
- hand lotion
- denture cleaner
- brush and comb
- toothpaste
- hair shampoo and conditioner
- talcum powder
- shaving cream
- special soap
- preferred incontinence supplies.
Licensing and Residential Care

For information about licensed residential care facilities, see:

Community Care Licensing

Residents' Bill of Rights

The Residents' Bill of Rights is a comprehensive set of rights grouped into four main themes: commitment to care; rights to health, safety and dignity; rights to participation and freedom of expression; and rights to transparency and accountability. For more information, see:

Residents' Bill of Rights

Other Home and Community Care Services

For a full list of the types of care that are publicly subsidized in B.C., see:

Care Options and Costs

I was just comparing apples to apples. I have seen some (but not all) of the BC government housing and I wouldn't check my dog into it.

CanuckBob wrote:Yep, it is all about labor costs. A nurse here might make $75 pesos per hour. NOB they are making $300 pesos (or more) per hour. The hard costs are about the same depending on the city up north.

I'm not sure if you meant to cite NOB income in pesos.

I also know, at least 15-20 years ago, the "nursing homes' and some assisted living facilities were using Filipino "nurses," that were really only helpers with little English and very lackadaisical in attitude.

COL here can be low if you live like a Mexican. We know the prices of consumer goods bought by expats are high.

I have had it suggested that someone who doesn't need 24/7 care and is somewhat ambulatory can get a full-time, live-in Mexican lady pretty cheap.

We have an upstairs room and bath we refer to as the "caretaker's suite", jokingly, but one of these years it could become a reality.  No way would I want to return NOB for the kind of and cost of "assisted living" available.  Sounds more like the Grim Reaper's Waiting Room.

Abbeyfield sounds pretty nice, but on my morning walks I wonder why they had to go and build the big bandstand directly across from it?  Oh well, most of the residents can just remove their hearing aids if it gets to be too much.  Depends on the music, too.  Could be entertaining, and besides, the malecon would be a fun place to people-watch.

Clueless wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:Yep, it is all about labor costs. A nurse here might make $75 pesos per hour. NOB they are making $300 pesos (or more) per hour. The hard costs are about the same depending on the city up north.

I'm not sure if you meant to cite NOB income in pesos.

Yes, I did. I like to compare apples to apples. The nurse's in Vancouver make the equivalent of $300 pesos per hour (and more).

300 p/hr. in van would probly not be a registered nurse. they would get way more i suspect. that's only 25canbucks/hr. but maybe in line with what a nurses aid might make plus benefits of course.

Clueless wrote:


COL here can be low if you live like a Mexican.

 

 
And pray tell, what that would be like, as all the "Mexicans" I know live life a little or a lot different from the next one.   
Are you suggesting they are a stereotypical, one size fits all, type of..... "Mexican"?

Depends on the Mexican. I lived in a high rise with all Mexican neighbors in Guadalajara. Units were minimum 5,000,000 pesos, most had Range Rovers and Mercedes and had dirt bikes and Harleys in the underground parking. One had 3 armed guards out front. I felt like the poor gringo with my POS VW Jetta, I would have put a paper bag over my head but all they have here is plastic.

An example of "live like a Mexican" with reference to the costs of living is the difference in price of a kilo of tortillas and the equivalent white bread.

sumofabit wrote:An example of "live like a Mexican" with reference to the costs of living is the difference in price of a kilo of tortillas and the equivalent white bread.

I think the phrase should have the word "poor" prior to "Mexican".
The tapatios coming to Lakeside on the weekends are living pretty large.

sumofabit wrote:An example of "live like a Mexican" with reference to the costs of living is the difference in price of a kilo of tortillas and the equivalent white bread.

Even that can be misleading as Bimbo is the largest bread company in the world and I know Mexican millionaires that have tortillas on the table with every meal. Bollillos and cuernos are sold everywhere and I guess they are "white bread". Lonches, tortas, etc. use a lot of white bread. Pan integral and multigrano are very popular also.  Poor people have to scrimp where ever they are.

I eat tortillas too, but not a half a kilo as a stomach filler each meal. You all have lost touch with what the rest of the country is like.

sumofabit wrote:I eat tortillas too, but not a half a kilo as a stomach filler each meal. You all have lost touch with what the rest of the country is like.

I don't think anyone is saying there isn't poor people in Mexico, or anywhere else, for that matter.  It was just the statement "live like a Mexican", that bothered me.
Maybe being too sensitive, but I eat a lot of tortillas.

Would "drive like a Mexican" infer that all of them drive?

I do not think that Mexican needs a poor prefix when speaking of the average citizen.

JRM ..... I broke my pelvis 2 places 4/14/15 in Silicon Valley, CA. (was sched to return to MX 4/23/15).  Had friend roll me to the car on a furniture dolly in excruciating pain and went to emergency room.  Was admitted & spent 2 nights after various types of x-rays.  Was then given the option of going to an acute rehabilitation facility or to a nursing home.  Chose the rehab as faster/more focused treatment.  Was there for 7 days in a 2 bed room and spent many hours in physical therapy.(they may have released me in a shorter period, if I had not been going home to recuperate with no one there to assist - don't know.)  Anyway, spent the next 3 weeks at home with physical therapist visiting 1/2hr 3x/wk. Returned to MX 6/10, ready to tackle the cobble stones & Casa stairs.  The bills to Medicare totalled a whopping $125,000. I had to pay only $1230. for everything (and that is with no additional ins. coverage - only Medicare parts A&B).  I feel very thankful for the care & coverage I received.  But, by gawd, I sure don't want to go thru that again!  I now look before every footstep!  Hope you're doing well.

Can some onerelate their experiences with the local establishments on death of the resident? I recently heard local gossip about how billing continues after death (this is correct if a contract was signed) and that cars, personal properties and even homes have been confiscated to pay the late fees. Is this true or was someone just spouting sour grapes? If it is true, how is this avoided so families can be made aware of what to do?