A leading aged care financial expert is calling for a fundamental shift in how aged care services are funded if the Federal Government is to address the crisis in the sector.
Speaking on Ryman Healthcare’s Pod of the 3rd Age Podcast, Aged Care Gurus Principal Rachel Lane said care should be funded based on a person’s needs, not on where they choose to live.
“I would like to see a situation where the funding you can get for your care is the same if you choose to live in your own home – whether that’s a retirement community, a house in the suburbs, a granny flat, whatever – or if you choose to live in residential aged care.”
Lane said the current Home Care Packages funding model meant people accessing packages in their own homes could receive less than half the amount of funding they would than if they lived in residential aged care.
“Residential aged care is funded up to $151,900 a year and that’s just talking about funding for care,” she said.
The existing Home Care funding system has four levels of packages ranging from about $10,500 a year for level one to $61,400 a year for level four, with assessments designating which level package an individual is eligible for.
Additional funding is available for people needing assistance with oxygen, feeding or those with dementia or cognition related care needs.
Lane said the existing system failed to appropriately account for people using home care packages in retirement living communities.
“I don’t think there was an expectation that home care packages would be taken into (retirement) communities – accommodation that’s purpose built for ageing in place with care staff onsite,” she said.
“I think when it was introduced there was this idea that if you’re getting care at home, you’re living in the family home, and if you need higher levels of care then of course you would move into a nursing home.”
The current funding approach is at odds with the Aged Care Taskforce’s recommendation that the aged care system should support older people to live at home for as long as they wish and can do so safely.
“The current system creates a situation where in order to get more care, you are essentially forced into an accommodation that may not be your choice,” Lane said.
Rachel said it was likely flaws in the existing funding system would change as the sector continued to evolve to meet the expectations of customers.
“I think if people understood that the funding for their Home Care Package is potentially less than half the funding they would be provided for their care if they moved into an aged care home they would ask ‘why?’,” she said.
“Why should the government care where you live in order to get the care you need and if they did have a preference wouldn’t the preference be to keep you out of residential aged care where they’re also potentially having to fund part of your accommodation.”
The Government’s response to the 23 recommendations made by the Aged Care Taskforce, including the recommendation to support older people to age in place, is imminent.
