Customers "refusing Support at Home over higher prices"

Less than two weeks into the Government's new in-home aged care program, and there are signs some new consumers are unwilling to pay higher prices for their care.

Adrian Morgan, the General Manager of Queensland home care provider, Flexi Care, said he has had clients turn down Support at Home already, and says it is "common" now for existing customers to cut back on services due to higher prices under Support at Home.

One client, a self-funded retiree who is not grandfathered under Support at Home, was approved for a Level 2 Home Care Package. She has been receiving care through the CHSP while waiting for her package to come through. She recently received a letter from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing saying her Support at Home funding has been approved.

"But when she compared it to what she was receiving under the CHSP, it was very clear to her that she would get less under Support at Home than she'd been getting under the CHSP, and she'd be paying a lot more for it," Adrian said.

"So, she's not going to take up the Support at Home place, because it doesn't make sense for her. The problem is, she really needs more support. She's only been assessed at Level 2. If she could get a higher level, then she potentially would look at Support at Home," Adrian said.

Another "common" problem Adrian is seeing is customers who had been on Home Care Packages finding their funding doesn't go as far under Support at Home because prices are higher. These clients are often opting to cut back on services, including personal care. The most affected are high users of their funding packages.

"If you need assistance with showering, dressing, and toileting, it's likely to be multiple times a week, and even if you're a pensioner paying 5%, multiple times a week, it adds up very quickly," he said.

"I'm imagining within a few months we'll have a very large number of people who will have said 'no' to services because of the cost."

"They've worked their guts out"

Fiona Parish, who operates Queensland home care service Far North Care, also had clients reject Support at Home.

Two north Queensland clients, both in their 70s, were recently approved for Level 2 Home Care Packages. Both are struggling with mobility and require help around the home and in the garden. Neither are grandfathered under Support at Home.

"These people had worked their guts out all their lives, worked seven days a week, and put a bit of money aside. They've got a bit of super, but not a lot, but they could live for another 30 years," Fiona told The Weekly SOURCE.

They recently received letters from the Department to say their Support at Home funding had come through, but because they are part pensioners, they will have to pay 80% of the cost of their non-care services.

"They've both gone out of their package," Fiona said. "They said we might as well give a little kid cash in hand to mow the lawn.

"They said, 'We'll struggle on and do it ourselves'."

Fiona said many of her clients live from pension to pension, and often their choice is, "Do I get medication this week or do I eat?" They don't have money to pay for home care.

She added she will retire in December due to the changes after working in home care for more than a decade and loving her work.