Part-pensioners and self-funded retirees to pay half of personal care at home

ABC NEWS (Australia)

'Once-in-a-generation' aged-care reforms will start on November the first with the biggest change being a co-payment system for care which the federal governments has deemed "nonclinical." For those who want to age at home, it means some part-pensioners and self-funded retirees will be paying around 50- dollars an hour for personal care, like showers.

Transcript

00:00Anybody who's already got a home care package or was approved before September last year,

00:07they won't go in under this system. There'll be no co-payments for them.

00:11Anybody from November 1 who's waiting now to be assessed or waiting for a home care package,

00:17they actually will have to pay these co-payments.

00:20It's going to affect everybody in home care, so all pensioners, part pensioners and self-funded retirees,

00:27but also for people entering residential aged care for the first time,

00:31they will also be subject to co-payments.

00:34They'll be asked to pay for what's deemed non-clinical care,

00:38so that's personal care, showers, cooking, their meals, etc. So it's a big change.

00:44So with the home care we can quantify it, there's been some figures published.

00:48So a personal care worker costs about $100 an hour,

00:51so that means somebody on a pension will only pay 5% of that fee.

00:56However, someone who's a part pensioner with some assets or a self-funded retiree,

01:02they'll pay 50%. So that's $50 for a shower and for some care.

01:08And people are very concerned about this because, especially advocates,

01:11because they say these people, especially pensioners, are already struggling.

01:17They could make real choices which could affect their health,

01:21and we interviewed one of those people.

01:23A shower is essential, hygienic care, it is a health issue.

01:28If you are not showering regularly, you are at risk of infection,

01:32of a whole raft of issues around bodily health.

01:36And to charge, and to ask people to choose between that and food,

01:42is really an obscenity.

01:44So the government says we have to do something.

01:46There's an ageing population.

01:48They didn't actually take this proposal from the Royal Commission.

01:52The Royal Commission couldn't actually, they suggested two different paths.

01:57The government put together its own aged care task force

02:00and they came up with the co-payment scheme,

02:02which is also being supported by the coalition.

02:05So the difference is, of course, what they're saying is,

02:09people with means should be able to pay.

02:12Those who can afford to pay, should pay.

02:14What advocates are saying is, how could pensioners,

02:17who are struggling to get by, afford to pay, even part pensioners?

02:23And what's really interesting is that the new Inspector General of Aged Care,

02:28Natalie Siegel-Brown, who's the watchdog, if you like,

02:31in her first report to the government,

02:33she has said that co-payments are actually contrary

02:36to the intent of the Royal Commission.

02:39She's very concerned about what it means for pensioners and part pensioners

02:43and she wants a rethink on that.

02:45And we interviewed her also.

02:47My concern is with the way in which we have structured co-payments.

02:52I believe that it will prejudice those with the lowest income in our society.

02:58What Natalie Siegel-Brown says is that what potentially could happen

03:02is if people forgo things like showers and personal care,

03:06then they could end up in hospital.

03:08There's already a problem.

03:10The state health ministers have banded together to complain

03:13about the fact that they've got about 2,500 people

03:16already in hospitals with nowhere to go.

03:19And she said the other problem is that they could end up

03:22in residential aged care earlier.

03:24So that is an actually much more expensive on the budget measure

03:30than somebody staying at home.

03:31So she is saying that some of these measures,

03:34which are supposed to actually save the budget,

03:36could actually end up costing it more.

03:38How did that happen?

03:39About a year?

03:40About a year later.

03:41When the pensioner does a day,

03:42what could go in?

03:43How does the pensioner do it?

03:44About a year later.

03:45And what happens at the 1980s have been tying us

03:46on a year later.

03:47It's really challenging that if we don't end up costing it more.

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