Refunds but no price caps for ripped-off older Aussies
The long-awaited home care price caps have been postponed indefinitely to prevent older Australians from being overcharged, but other financial protections have been introduced in the meantime.
The government has postponed the price limits, which were originally scheduled to start in July, out of fear that they would worsen “variable” cost increases caused by the Iran war affecting large parts of the economy.
“We really don’t want to set a price ceiling that would have undesirable consequences, particularly that would lead to prices rising,” Health Minister Mark Butler told ABC radio on Tuesday.
Hundreds of thousands of people rely on a home support program that provides cleaning, showering, transportation, and clinical supports such as nursing and occupational therapy.
Mr Butler said most providers in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which has price limits, set price caps.
“Especially during a period where we’re going to see this price volatility, we’re going to do a little bit more work … actually kind of flow through the system,” he said.
To better protect older Australians as price caps are developed, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will have the power to order refunds for services where providers are found to have overcharged.
The Commission will also be able to take action against providers who fail to submit monthly reports and request regular public information about investigations and enforcement actions.
Reports will be published showing different prices for home support, so older Australians and their families can see how their providers compare.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae says the government is listening to older Australians and their families who are calling for stronger protection against “rogue” market prices.
“We are listening and we are taking action,” he said in a statement.
The government will also encourage providers to limit price increases to no more than twice a year so seniors can budget their packages.
Advocacy group the Council on Aging welcomed the new measures but warned that hard work on the price cap must continue.
“What matters is not the mechanism itself, but whether older people are truly protected from excessive and unreasonable pricing,” Pat Sparrow, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.
The peak body for aged care providers described the price cap plan as “premature” and said more time was needed to get the settings right in the sector.
“As no independent costing studies have been completed since the launch of the Home Support program in November, any caps currently set cannot account for the true cost of delivering quality services,” Aging Australia CEO Tom Symondson said in a statement.
“Most importantly, this (delay) avoids widespread confusion for both providers and older people.”
It comes as the health minister said changes to private health insurance discounts would not be canceled for older Australians despite criticism from demographics.
Discounts for people over 65 will be rolled back, and more than three million people will pay about $240 more a year for insurance.
Mr Butler said the measures were to redirect funding towards aged care and make discounts fair across age groups.
“For many people this is unwelcome, but at a time when there is a real challenge to our budget and the need to find every dollar we can spend on aged care,” he said.
“Where you had two households next to each other with the same income, paying them a different subsidy for their private health insurance just based on age was not sustainable going forward.”
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