The chief executive of the Sydney Not For Profit group HammondCare, Dr Stephen Judd has come out swinging this week against claims of over-claiming in the aged care industry. Speaking to The Australian, he said that those accused of over-claiming were not rorting, but rather maxing out the system that had been given to them by the Australian Government.
At the same time he was also critical of the reported 51 per cent figure of aged care residents being assessed as being in the high claim category for complex health care, stating that it was abnormal.
Dr Judd also criticized the current ACFI funding model it rewarded providers for keeping residents in bed rather than improving peoples health. You get more funds for keeping people in bed and giving them as many meds as possible ... this is a system that has perverse incentives, he said.
His comments follow the Mid Year Budget cuts of $1.2B over four years.