Rollout of aged care funding boost begins
The one-off $320 million increase to residential aged care subsidies takes affect from today, the government has announced.
The one-off $320 million increase to residential aged care subsidies takes affect from today, the government has announced.
As announced by the government in February, the boost to the residential aged care subsidy equates to an average additional $1,800 per permanent resident (read our backgrounder here).
It will be paid as a 9.5 per cent increase in the subsidy for residents in mainstream residential aged care until 30 June 2019.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt said the boost provided the sector additional support to deliver quality aged care services while the government considered longer-term reform funding options.
“This is an up-front payment to support all providers in the care of their residents over the next 18 months, while the Royal Commission goes about its work,” Mr Wyatt said.
“We are absolutely committed to providing senior Australians and the aged care sector with the support they need to provide quality services.”
The 30 per cent increases to the viability and homelessness supplements announced in December’s Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook also begin today.
The increase includes an additional $101.9 million funding for the viability supplement for eligible small, rural and remote residential aged care providers to offset higher care costs in regional areas.
More than 550 services accounting for around 13,500 residential care places currently receive the viability supplement, the government said.
The $9.3 million boost to the homelessness supplement will support more than 1,700 residents with a history of or who are at risk of homelessness across 42 residential services nationally, the government said.
The $35.7 million increase in home care supplements for people with moderate to severe levels of cognitive impairment and veterans’ with a mental health condition announced last month is also effective from today.
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Funding increase… Finally! But what happens after this three month election period?
With almost half of residential facilities running at a loss and the ones making a profit have an average of just.-5% what’s taking the government so long to fix the problems they have created. They slashed the funding and cut subsidies etc etc and each home has to provide audited figures by October every year so there isn’t anything they don’t know already. Reports have flooded the government telling of the predicament but still nothing. Shame on Scott Morrison.