A strong majority of Canadians expect that they will need more personal savings to pay for medical bills in the future, but a majority of the same taxpayers also say they don’t want to pay higher personal income taxes to raise funds devoted entirely to health care. The results are contained in a survey sponsored by Investors Group and completed by Decima Research.

The survey showed that 67% of Canadians expect that they will need more personal savings to pay for medical bills while 55% said they did not want to pay higher taxes to fund health care.

“Canadians are saying that they expect to be using more of their savings to pay for health care, but they are very lukewarm about higher taxes for health care,” said Debbie Ammeter, vice president, advanced financial planning support for Investors Group. “They should ensure their financial plan takes into account their health care needs. Insurance for personal health care, critical illness and long term care take on new and increased importance for most Canadians.”

Ammeter suggested long-term care insurance as a means to alleviate the worry of burdening family or friends in the event of an illness. Experience shows that insurance can cover the cost of in-home care providers, institutional care homes and even hospitals that may not be fully covered by publicly funded programs. She added that critical illness insurance is worth investigating as part of a comprehensive financial plan.

The survey showed a uniformity of opinion across all Canadians in expecting to need more personal savings to pay for future medical bills. On a regional basis, this expectation breaks down as 69% in Atlantic Canada; 64% in Quebec; 65% in Ontario; 71% on the Prairies; and 75% in British Columbia.

The survey results are based on a Decima Express national telephone survey conducted with a representative sample of 2000 Canadians (18 years and older) between October 11 and 20, 2002. A sample of this size will provide results that can be considered accurate for the population overall to within plus or minus 2.2% 19 times out of 20.