Apr 19, 2017

New Options for Aged Care Funding After ACFI Cuts?

According to Federal Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, the Australian Government currently contributes approximately $17.5 billion a year to aged care. It’s been predicted that  number will increase to just under $21 billion by 2019-20.  

Earlier today the Federal Government released a new report, Alternative Aged Care Assessment, Classification System and Funding Models, outlining alternatives to to the current Aged Care Funding Instrument.  

The new report was prepared by the  Australian Health Services Research Institute at the University of Wollongong, which was commissioned by the Department of Health to analyse and evaluate the current status of funding and what other options couple be put in place.

“It’s important that we review the way we fund aged care to ensure we create an aged care system that is affordable, sustainable, flexible and responsive to consumers,” says Minister Wyatt.

The report provides a five different options for residential aged care funding. However, this isn’t the only review that is happening in terms of funding – a separate review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument is currently being initiated by Applied Aged Care Solutions.

“That review will focus on options to improve the current tool to make it less subjective including the feasibility of external assessment,” Minister Wyatt said.

“These two separate but important pieces of work will help inform the Government’s deliberations over the future direction for funding reform.”

“The aged care sector will continue to play a key role in this reform and there will be further consultation with the sector before any decisions are made on funding options.”

With an increasing ageing population, more and more people are accessing aged care services, “in 2015–16, more than 1.3 million older people received some form of aged care and with more Australians living longer and healthier lives, those numbers will increase”.

“To meet the level of demand for aged care services now and into the future the Australian Government needs to make sure its funding gives the best possible value for money,” says Minister Wyatt.

The healthcare sector have received many funding cuts over the past few years, and the biggest concern has been directed towards the aged care industry.

These new solutions for funding, released in today’s report, are being suggested not long after ACFI received $1.2 billion funding cuts last year, which were to span over the next four years. Among other hits, there was also the freezing of indexation in 2012 and the removal of the Payroll Tax supplement in the 2014 Budget.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Palliative care staff keep older couple together until their last days

Family and doctors of an older American couple have recounted how “They [didn't stop] holding hands the whole time” during their final moment in hospital before dying nine days apart. Read More

Violent crimes against older people are on the rise in Australia

  Over the last few years, it has definitely felt as though there has been a noticeable increase in the number of news stories that involve crimes being committed against vulnerable elderly people. Given Australia’s 24-hour news cycle and the propensity of news outlets to publish the most outrage-inducing stories, it has been difficult to... Read More

Husband’s ashes returned to widow after cold-hearted robbery

An older Queensland woman has had her late husband's ashes returned after burglars stole his urn from her Queensland home in broad daylight. Read More
Advertisement