Rural and remote viability supplements for community care delayed
The development of viability supplements (VS) for rural and remote community care promised in the 2006 Budget will be delayed due to problems with the development of the payment model and changes to the payments system.
This means that the first VS payments will not be made until May/June 2007, but they will be backdated to 1 January 2007.
Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, has advised service providers of the delay.
Industry representatives advising the Government have queried the proposed amount of money allocated for the VS and the scales which will be used and have suggested using residential care funding criteria and guidelines. They are also concerned that additional paperwork may be required for claiming the VS.
Again, in line with current policy development, claim forms should be able to be lodged electronically, and service providers should be consulted to test its ‘user friendliness’.
