I am afraid cold custard and a 2 hour wait to be taken to the toilet will not cut it anymore.
Aged care concessions cost $5b in revenue
Phillip Coorey Political editor
Sep 13, 2024 – 5.42pm
The Albanese government sacrificed about $5 billion in budget savings in return for securing the Coalition’s support for the aged care reforms announced this week, according to sources in both camps.
The reforms, which will require retirees to pay more for both home and residential care from July 1 next year, increase the use of means-testing and therefore have the greatest impact on part-pensioners and self-funded retirees.
These voters are key to the Coalition’s support base and, from the outset, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and shadow health minister Anne Ruston told the government the package as originally proposed would never pass muster among Coalition MPs.
Consequently, Senator Ruston and Mr Dutton won a raft of demands, including exempting existing residents in aged care homes and those on the waiting list for home care, from the new fee structures.
Another key concession was to insist on a cumulative lifetime contributions cap for home and residential care of $130,000. The current cap is $79,900, but the initial proposal was to have no cap on home care and a $184,000 cap on residential care.
When the reforms were unveiled on Thursday, the government said the net saving to the aged care budget over the next 11 years would be $12.6 billion. But a government source familiar with the process said the figure would have been about $5 billion more had it not been for the concessions. A Coalition source said it was “billions”.
Nonetheless, over the longer term, the savings will start to increase as no one in the system will be exempt. The annual aged care bill is $36 billion and rising.
The exemptions differ between the two care modes. Anyone in a residential facility before the July 1, 2025 start date will be carved out, and anyone already on a home care waiting list on Thursday – the day the reforms were announced – will come under the old regime.
Under the new funding model, a full-pensioner will pay, at the most, $300 more a year for residential care, a part-pensioner $700 extra, while a self-funded retiree would be on the hook for up to $13,400.
As for home care, a full-pensioner will pay 5 per cent of their independence costs and 17.5 per cent of their everyday living costs.
Depending on their income and assets, part-pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health cardholders will pay between 5 per cent and 15 per cent of their independence costs, and between 17.5 per cent and 80 per cent of their everyday living costs.
Self-funded retirees will pay 50 per cent and 80 per cent of the respective costs. Everyday living services include cleaning and gardening. Independence supports could include help with showering, dressing and taking medications.
The reforms have been overwhelmingly welcomed by the aged care sector, but there has been some pushback from self-funded retirees.
Margaret Walsh, the acting national president of Australian Independent Retirees, who was on the aged care taskforce which advised on the reforms, told the ABC: “I felt I was pretty much the lone voice, particularly for independent retirees.
“We had other people representing pensioners. I think that I was the only one, and I was certainly overruled on most things.”
When Mr Dutton sought approval for the deal from his party room on Thursday, about 12 MPs who spoke in protest did so on behalf of self-funded retirees.
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said asking people to pay a bit more was essentially for their own good.
“When a person arrives at residential aged care, let’s be honest, it’s not something that people look forward to ... in fact, over the past few years, people have been dreading it,” she said.
“Lots of people have said to me, ‘I’d be happy to pay a little bit more if I could get a higher standard of aged care’.
“What I hope is that when that moment comes ... they arrive to an aged care facility that has a new wing being built and that the room they have has an ensuite.”
Here is the link:
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/aged-care-concessions-cost-5b-in-revenue-20240913-p5kaad
To me the problem with the aged care system has been that even if people were prepared to pay more for something better than cold custard such services were very hard to find and get access to.
The system seems to rely on all the patients being passive and uncomplaining and to be able to just lump them all together out of sight but with pretty pathetic services.
The ‘baby-boomers’
are hot going to wear this and are going to demand much better and more focused care I suspect (know) and will
be willing to pay to get it. It will all cost a lot more than at present....
I suspect the next decade will be a period of dramatic change in aged care – see if I am not right!
David.
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