The summary of the Aged Care Taskforce’s sixth meeting in November suggests that the issue of consumer contributions in aged care is still on the agenda ahead of the release of its Final Report.
The communiqué – published last Friday, 8 December – reveals that the Taskforce examined feedback from additional consultation sessions with Chief Financial Officers from residential aged care providers and banking and superannuation sector representatives.
“Taskforce members considered a package of reforms to provide a system that is simpler and more flexible and transparent for older people, while enabling the aged care sector to meet current and future funding challenges and support service quality and innovation,” it reads.
As part of these considerations, the Taskforce members looked at the research by political consultants Kantar Public Australia – commissioned by the Federal Government earlier this year in February at a cost of $400,000 and yet to be published – which claims to have found:
- “People mistakenly believe they need to pay for 49% of their aged care costs, which they feel is too much
- Government actually pays 95% of home care costs and 75% of residential aged care costs
- When people know the full cost of aged care services, they are willing to pay between 30 and 40% of the cost of the service
- People are willing to pay more for home care services that are essential and increase quality of life and dignity
- People are willing to pay higher co-contributions for services where the costs of services is transparent, and they understand what they receive for their co-contribution
- 75% of people prefer a ‘user pays’ model where they provide a co-contribution for services received
- people have limited understanding of how the aged care system works and how changes to the system will impact them.”
In short, the research would appear to indicate that the majority of Australians support Plan B, or increased consumer contributions for aged care accommodation and daily living expenses.
However, the findings also hint that the community still has a limited understanding of aged care and how changes to the funding model could impact them – see my opinion piece about why a national conversation about Plan B needs to be the top priority for CEOs in 2024.
The Taskforce is now set to hold its final meeting tomorrow (Friday 15 December) ahead of the release of its Final Report this month or in January at the latest.
You can read the communiqué here.
