Montreal home care is a vital service that ensures seniors can receive the support they need to live comfortably in their own homes. There are various services available, including home health care, support care and respite care. The costs of montreal home care depend on the type and level of care required. Some senior home care services are covered by provincial and federal programs. Others require private payment. Regardless of the type and level of home care needed, it is important to explore all options before deciding.

In Quebec, seniors who require home care are often unable to access the help they need due to a number of factors, including lack of information, bureaucracy, and strict eligibility requirements. This can result in a gap between needs and availability of care, and also lead to a strain on the caregiver’s family.

While many seniors wish to stay at home, this is not always possible, especially for those with complex medical conditions and limited mobility. Reablement, which combines psychosocial and physical rehabilitation, can help reduce barriers to participation at home and in the community, while also improving quality of life. This approach is particularly suited for people with chronic and disabling illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory diseases.

A large proportion of seniors who live in residential care facilities or long-term care homes, called Centres d’hébergement de soins de longue durée (CHSLD), report unmet home care needs. This is a problem that can be addressed by promoting and developing the network of home care services, but this will require increased resources. To do this, it is essential to shift away from the current system of over-reliance on CHSLDs, which can be costly to both taxpayers and the aging population.

The good news is that there are financial supports that can be used to help pay for home care, and some are specifically geared toward caregivers. Currently, there are two tax credits in Quebec that are available to those who provide home care to an adult who is 18 or over and who suffers from a serious impairment.(31) These tax credits provide a maximum of $3,000 per year to help cover the cost of home care and associated expenses for the eligible person, and up to $1,200 for related expenses for the caregiver.

However, despite the existence of these tax credits, they are rarely utilized. In 2018, for example, a combined total of only 59,197 people claimed these tax credits.(32) This is probably because a significant portion of caregivers are unaware that they can claim them.(33) It is important that they are better promoted, so that more seniors and their caregivers can benefit from these financial incentives.