Non-Profit Long-Term Care in Ontario: How Financially Robust Is the System?

Abstract

The disastrous effects of the 2019 pandemic have demonstrated the need for comprehensive reform of the policy, regulatory, and financing regimes of long-term care in Canada, including strengthening the nonprofit component of the care system. In this article, we assess the implications of the evolution of Ontario’s long-term-care policy on non-profit providers. We analyze the revenue trends and financial health of charitable long-term-care homes (LTCHs) from 2004 to 2017. Although the general pattern is one of revenue stability for non-profit LTCHs, their financial robustness has become more constrained over time as a result of greater reliance on government funding and declining philanthropy.