On behalf of the BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) and the hundreds of members we serve, we are contacting you about the BC Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
BCCPA has represented health care leaders in BC for over 30 years. Our members employ more than 7,000 people and care for over 10,000 seniors each day in residential care - along with an additional 4,000 each year through home support.
Last week, BCCPA released a report that we submitted to BC Health Minister Kevin Falcon which included a list of recommendations on ways to make the seniors' care system more efficient and sustainable. Among other things, it highlights the impact of the HST on our sector and identifies potential mitigation options to ensure the new tax does not represent an additional threat to the sustainability of the system.
It is estimated the HST will result in a negative economic impact on BC seniors' care providers of over $10 million/year. Furthermore, it will penalize care providers that have rightfully been encouraged by our provincial government to contract out certain services to maximize direct patient care dollars.
The bottom line is that without HST mitigation, care providers will be forced to lay-off staff and reduce service.
On behalf of our members, we have been working closely with the BC government to discuss mitigation options for our sector - with some success. These discussions will continue in advance of the upcoming BC Budget.
However, it is our strong belief that the Government of Canada should also play a more direct role in mitigating the negative impacts of the HST on seniors' care in BC - and Ontario. That is why we have joined the Canadian Alliance for Long Term Care and our colleagues in the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) to secure improvements to the Federal Excise Tax Act.
More specifically, we are asking the federal government to include all providers of publically funded and regulated long term care services in the same HST rebate category as hospitals. The current definition - referred to as MUSH (Municipalities, Universities, Schools and Hospitals) - will exclude these care providers that are providing important relief to our public acute care system.
Last month, BCCPA and OLTCA representatives met with senior federal finance and health officials to discuss this opportunity. It has also been raised with the BC Minister of Finance and he has indicated a willingness to support this small change. A detailed one-page briefing note is linked here for your immediate reference.
On behalf of seniors' care providers across British Columbia, we are asking you to review this issue closely and express your support to the federal Minister of Finance and your party leadership for this change.
Your support will help ensure that all seniors and long term care providers receive comparable and equitable treatment under the HST.
