Providers are exiting in-home care – here’s why
Can the exit of providers from in-home aged care services be stemmed ahead of major changes that will see consumers directly funded for their health care?
Key Points
- New Support at Home Program will replace existing government funded in-home programs next year.
- Victorian providers are exiting the in-home care sector ahead of the changes.
- Providers want additional $853 million for Home Care Packages backlog.
VincentCare is the latest provider to give up the in-home care market in Victoria. The ABC reports 25 Victorian councils also have exited in-home aged care and a further nine have decided to exit by 30 June.
The departures come ahead of major changes to the national in-home care sector, which will see the existing Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), Home Care Packages (HCP) program, and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) programs replaced by a new Support at Home Program.
The federal Health Department says the new program follows recommendations from the Aged Care Royal Commission and is due to start in July 2024.
The federal Health Department is continuing to talk to providers about the transition to the new program, but in Victoria at least, smaller providers are leaving the in-home care market to larger providers that have sufficient scale to implement wide-ranging national changes.
The department says no one will lose any in-home aged care services that are currently in place.
Service providers say a major reason is the proposed change to funding. Currently, providers receive funds directly from the government but under the new system, the consumer will be directly funded and able to engage the provider and services they choose.
Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark said this change was a factor in councils in Victoria exiting the system.
“To provide the in-home service, councils rely on permanent staff supported through the former block-funding model,” Mr Clark said.
“The changes to the funding remove council funding certainty, impacting their ability to effectively plan and deliver the service.”
He said larger state-wide and even national service providers will be better suited to providing in-home aged care services in the future.
VincentCare Interim Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Turton told ABC Radio Melbourne that, as a small-scale provider, it would have been difficult for his organisation to meet new government requirements.
“There are a number of mainstream specialist providers out there who do a terrific job, and because they’ve got the scale, they are in a much better position to continue to provide a high standard of care,” he said.
“We actually think this will deliver a better outcome, a better quality of care, for people who we’re currently supporting.”
Mr Turton said 150 people in north-west Melbourne, Gippsland and Shepparton would be affected by the decision.
“VincentCare is assisting clients to use the My Aged Care portal to identify potential providers that are best equipped to meet their needs in accordance with their packages, but we are unable to recommend specific providers,” a St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria spokesperson said.
“We urge people who have any concerns or questions to call our Home Care Packages Team in North Melbourne on (03) 8327 7000.”
Ahead of the 2024 changes, the Aged & Community Care Providers Association is calling for an injection of $853 million into the Home Care Packages program to clear the waiting list for 2023-24 ahead of the replacement scheme’s commencement in July 2024.
“This allocation of funds is a critical step to support home care package recipients’ transition to the new in-home aged care program from July 2024, by ensuring that their new support plans reflect approved service levels matched to need,” says the ACCPA submission to Treasury.
The budget needs to address the chronic workforce shortage as well, says ACCPA, by “funding future pay increases and ensuring aged care nurses receive salaries commensurate with their counterparts in public hospitals”.
ACCPA is also calling for an extension to the working hours of student visa holders beyond 30 June 2023 “until such time the immigration of new aged care workers increases sufficiently to reduce the staffing shortage in our sector”.
Other budget priorities for ACCPA include:
- The immediate implementation of indexation in line with the Consumer Price Index for all forms of aged care.
- Funding for the 215 minutes daily requirement of care to be provided 12 months early, from October 2023, to better support providers to meet the target time.
- Immediately addressing the backlog of processing applications to the COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program.
- Streamlining the reimbursement process for the new COVID-19 Grant that commenced on 1 January.
- Funding of an industry implementation reform plan.
- Funding of additional costs for rural, regional and remote providers.
For further reading: ABC News, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Ageing Agenda
