Financial hardship still poses a barrier to quality care

There are calls for reform in the next Budget to ensure older people in financial hardship do not miss out on quality aged care.

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) — which represents 350 aged care facilities and about 20% of home services around the country — said it supports fair contributions to aged care costs for those who can afford it. However, it is calling for an improved safety net for those who can’t.

“While we welcome the reforms of the Aged Care Act, we must keep working to ensure that aged care remains accessible for everyone, not just those with the deepest pockets,” said CHA CEO Jason Kara.

“We are concerned the current safety nets in place are inadequate and will potentially see thousands of disadvantaged people miss out on the care they need.”

In its pre-budget submission, Catholic Health Australia is calling on the government to increase the accommodation supplement which helps aged care providers support financially disadvantaged residents.

Currently, the maximum supplement sits at $69.49 per day, yet the actual cost of providing aged care accommodation is 65% higher, averaging $114.79 per day.

“The current supplement simply does not cover costs,” Kara said. “Without an increase, aged care providers will be unable to sustain quality residential care for low-means older Australians.”

The government must also set maximum timeframes for Services Australia to process hardship applications.

“The government must urgently provide detail on hardship provisions and set maximum timeframes to ensure no-one gets left behind while waiting to find out if they qualify,” Kara said.

In addition to bolstering hardship provisions, CHA’s submission calls for the government to:

• Subsidise the cost to providers of implementing the reforms of the Aged Care Act such as the required ICT upgrades.
• Increase funding to services in high-cost rural and remote mining towns like Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie with high costs.
• Fund and deliver enough aged care packages to meet demand.
• Subsidise rents for aged care nurses as rising housing costs make it more difficult to attract and retain staff.
   

Image credit: iStock.com/Ilija Erceg