Where is Aged Care
at this Election?
Stephanie Buckland, Chief Executive Officer, Amana Living
As another election swings around, I have wondered why aged care hasn’t been debated in the same way as other vital political issues such as the cost of living, rental prices and climate change (amongst others).
As I wrote in a recent Opinion Editorial for the West Australian, this seems unusual for a country where the number of those over 65 will double in the next 40 years - and triple for those over 85. Simply put, anyone in their 30s or 40s should be thinking about where they are going to be in their twilight years, whether at home or in residential care, and what their quality of care will be like.
With a new bi-partisan Aged Care Act coming into effect on July 1, I am sure everyone will want their support to be properly regulated, safe, comfortable, caring, and ultimately affordable – no matter what their economic circumstances are.
Currently, around 5% of aged care in Australia is paid for by the individuals receiving care; and 95% is paid for by the government; in other words, taxpayers.
With the massive shift in the age of our population, we will soon have many fewer taxpayers per retired person – going from a ratio of about five taxpayers per retired person to three.
Under the new Act, individuals will contribute proportionately more to their aged care, and taxpayers will contribute proportionately less to aged care costs.
This is great news for the long-term sustainability of our aged care system, but it ignores the fact that more than 70,000 older people are waiting for a home care package. The average waiting time for a home care package is more than a year.
While they wait, many older people are being admitted to hospital for ailments that may have been avoided had they been able to access home care.
This increase in demand from older people affects anyone who needs to access a hospital. Once an older person has entered hospital, residential aged care may be their only appropriate aged care option. As one clinician said to me, ‘They can’t go back to home care. That ship has sailed.’
Residential aged care can be up to 15 times more expensive than home care, so this Government rationing of home care packages creates a false economy.
That is why I say to every politician I meet: ‘No one should have to wait for a home care package. Not only is it not compassionate, it does not make good economic sense!’
Which is why aged care should be a high priority political issue. It is economic, it affects each and every one of us, young and old, it impacts our health system, our housing, our cost of living, transportation, taxes, the list goes on. The fact is, the older we get, the more we are going to want that experience to be graceful, dignified and affordable.
This makes aged care something that everyone should care about and be talking about, because none of us are getting any younger.
Whoever wins this election will have to address this issue when a new Parliament is convened, when the new Act is enforced and as a new wave of older people, and their families, look at what their aged care options are. It is an issue no-one, certainly any political party, can run away from.
Amana Living has entered a team in the HBF Run for a Reason on 25 May to raise funds for the No One Dies Alone Companion Program (NODAC) which, as its name implies, ensures that anyone in our care has someone with them as they leave this world.
The program receives no government funding and residents do not pay for it, so the funds we raise (our target is $25,000), helps us to offset the cost of this unique and valued program.
If you would like to donate, please go to: runforareason25.grassrootz.com/amana-living. Gifts over $2.00 are tax deductible. Thank You!