The Govt is working on a new basis to fund residential aged care, mindful it has cut $1.8B on the back of ACFI ‘gaming’ accusations.
Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM says the Residential Aged Care Resource Utilisation and Classification (RUC) study will help guide long-term reform in aged care funding – the first time that relative costs have been studied since the 1990s.
“Understanding how resident characteristics drive care costs, what costs are common for all residents and what impact the location and size facilities has on costs, will help us better design the funding system,” he said.
The Federal Govt has allocated $18.6B to aged care in 2017-18, including $12.5B for residential care.
Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) CEO Pat Sparrow told Pro Bono News: “As a relative resourcing study, the focus will be on the existing level of funding. There remains a need for a broader community discussion about the overall quantum of funds, the public and private mix of those funds and how the quality of care desired can be afforded,” she said.
The study is expected to be completed within 12 months.
