Industry backs ACFI review terms
The broad scope of the review gives providers the chance to share their grievances with the tool.
The industry has welcomed the Commonwealth Government’s announcement of the terms of reference for its aged care funding instrument (ACFI) review.
The official review will assess the tool to see if it has improved funding, reduced paperwork and streamlined the validation process.
It will also consider a number of concerns raised by the industry, including the challenges faced by low care providers and facilities in rural and remote locations.
The CEO of Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA), Rod Young believes the terms are broad enough to accommodate the concerns of providers.
He said the government’s decision to review the subsidies for residents with low care needs was particularly important.
“Under the ACFI there has been an increase in the number of care recipients receiving extremely low or zero subsidy and that has meant a severe disadvantage for providers,” Mr Young said.
“The number of people in the former RCS Category 8 was around 400 but under the ACFI around 3,000 residents have been receiving zero funding.
“That is a significant change and it represents a significant impost on providers who are trying to maintain a high standard of care.”
The terms of reference were also well received by Aged and Community Care Victoria (ACCV), which held an ACFI symposium with bureaucrats from the Department of Health and Ageing last month.
The association’s CEO, Gerard Mansour said it was good to see that the issues raised at the symposium – such as the challenges faced by rural and remote facilities – were mentioned in the review’s terms of reference.
But he expressed disappointment that the terms did not explicitly acknowledge the indexation of aged care funding.
“You can’t just talk about base funding when you are discussing these issues,” said Mr Mansour. “Even the Senate inquiry talked about the issue of annual indexation.”
When the ACFI was introduced in March 2008, the government pledged that it would conduct a review into the new tool after it had been in operation for 18 months.
In announcing the terms of reference, Ageing Minister Justine Elliot urged the industry to share its feedback.
“The introduction of the ACFI was a substantial change to the way care subsidies are allocated and we want to hear from aged care providers about their experience with this funding tool and any concerns that they may have with its operation,” Mrs Elliot said.
It is expected that the review will be completed midway through 2010 while a discussion paper and a call for public submissions will be released before the end of 2009.
