“The report does a good job of framing what the problem is:too many old people to the number of young people to pay for it. Then,in the context of sustainability,it does nothing about it.
“Unlike the rest of the world,Australia pays for nearly all of[people’s care costs]. With the taxpayer base shrinking,you can’t keep giving it away for free ...[This retiring generation] is already the wealthiest cohort in history.”
Instead,the report focused on everyday living expenses in residential aged care,which are currently capped at $61 a day – or 85 per cent of the aged pension – despite costing providers about $80.
Taskforce member and aged care consultant Grant Corderoy said getting self-funded retirees to cover the $19 gap – or $7300 more a year – was the logical starting point.
“If you want additional services – alcohol with dinner,hairdressing,over and above the prescribed services – that’s what you negotiate with the provider,” he said.
“One of the arguments I hear is:I pay tax all my life,why should I pay for my aged care?[Your] aged care nurses,medication,allied health are all paid for by the taxpayer.
“[But] everyday living and accommodation has nothing to do with taxes. If you’re living in your own home,you’re paying for those things. If you leave your home,of course you have to pay for that wherever you go.”
Wells said figures about how much more people would pay were still hypothetical:“But in all of the consultation that has been undertaken so far … what people have told us if they’re prepared to pay for a better service if it is a higher quality service.”
Taskforce member Tom Symondson,the chief executive of the Aged and Community Care Providers Association,said people should not be able to get better care or more nursing hours because they can afford to pay. “That would be abhorrent,that’s not something we would support,” he said.
“But maybe you should be able to get Pay TV or a newspaper … when you’ve got the money to do it. And at the moment,that’s very hard in our system because we’re so afraid of looking unequal or unfair.”
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Older Persons Advocacy Network policy director Samantha Edmonds said she wanted more detail about how vulnerable people would be protected under safety net provisions. “Transparency of any fees and charges is critical,especially if the government proceeds to make further users pay for their aged care,” she said.
“It is also critically important that we don’t create a two-tiered system,where those who can afford to pay get a first-class service,and those who can’t receive inadequate care.”
Opposition aged care spokeswoman Anne Ruston offered to work with the government but said there were many unanswered questions. “This report has put out there all of the challenges the sector is facing,but there’s very little in terms of any direction as to how we might go about solving them,” she said.
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