Preventing care in public hospital system
Industry body for age services, Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), is urging both the opposition and the Greens to protect the quality, care and services for Australia’s most vulnerable older Australians.
Patrick Reid, LASA chief executive, claims a lack of funding will propel potentially thousands of older Australians into the public hospital system.
Patrick Reid, LASA chief executive, claimed the age services industry was dealt a “considerable blow” in the budget with the removal of the Aged Care Payroll Tax Supplement, comprising $653 million over four years.
“This came with no consultation and will create a vastly uneven aged care industry, compromising jobs and care, cuts that cannot be tolerated,” Mr Reid said.
In taking up the National Commission of Audit recommendation to remove the Payroll Tax supplement, the government goes against its own justification for the payment “that In the interests of competitive neutrality, the Commonwealth currently refunds for-profit providers for the payroll tax that they pay”, Mr Reid said.
Yet, the budget has perversely destroyed competition by removing the supplement, a supplement that contributes to their own assertion that there is a ‘strong rationale for government involvement in aged care on equity grounds’, he adds.
“A perceived budget saving can become a considerably larger cost. This is certainly the case with residential aged care, where a lack of funding will propel potentially thousands of older Australians into the public hospital system. The cost of providing a hospital bed is more than six times that of the highest residential care funding.”
According to Mr Reid, a funding reduction of this magnitude to a highly government controlled industry can only be met with the loss of staff and skills.
“Both the previous and current government acknowledge there needs to be a $25 billion investment in the age services industry to meet demand. With the budget announcement a significant number of operators will be unviable; options for capital investment are non-existent.
“Residential aged care is not a highly profitable business. Providers are willing to work smarter but their unique operation requires an equitable funding approach. The payroll tax supplement was developed for this very reason.”
LASA is now calling on both the opposition and the Greens to protect the quality of care to older Australians when negotiating its support of budget measures, particularly in supporting age services as a much more cost effective solution to the public hospital system.
