My colleague Ian Horswill is a great journalist, and in a conversation with Daniel Aitchison, CEO of Palm Lake Care, he heard the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority was holding up RAD approval for his new aged care home Palm Lake Care Caloundra at Little Mountain on the Sunshine Coast, for which Daniel wishes to charge above $550K – the majority of rooms at $650,000 and some up to $850,000.
Ian dug around and realised the $550K limit hadn’t changed since 2014 – eight years ago – despite home prices increasing 40% and more. Not fair, we say!
Think about it. Everything has gone up dramatically since 2014 (and especially in the past 12 months), but aged care operators have to go through this process of cap in hand to ask approval to go above this limit.
Inflation alone has taken $550K to $647K.
In 2017, five years ago, Professor David Tune recommended $750K, but this was not accepted and no explanation given that we can find.
Worse, we are told the Department is rejecting many applications; at the moment it has 47 requests it is assessing.
This is a lose/lose scenario. Operators have a disincentive to build in more expensive areas where customers expect better facilities, design, services etc, so everyone misses out.
The Government misses out on having new stock built, operators have less revenue and so lean on the Government more. Residents have to move away from areas they know and love. And families will have to travel further to where existing RACs are located.
None of this is fair.
Plan B, the Courier Mail and you
Our Plan B charter is to generate discussion in the community about what aged care is, and what is fair when it comes to funding.
My colleague Ian supplied the Palm Lake Care story to the Courier Mail, who took it up. They spoke to Daniel at Palm Lake Cove and printed this story. It will be read by more than 135,000 people plus digital views.
We are reworking many stories and providing them to participating Plan B operators to distribute. You can use them in your newsletters, Facebook page, local radio, media releases to local politicians and more. Expect two-to-four stories every week. We provide the stories at no cost.
Our Plan B conversation is that it is fair that Government pays for the care component of home and residential care, but the customer with means should co-contribute rent for their accommodation and their daily living expenses. Just like they did before moving into the aged care system.
Want to know more or join Plan B, contact me at chris.baynes@thedcmgroup.com.au