Change of course on out-of-pocket showering, dressing costs
Labor’s backdown from forcing older Australians to pay for help with showering, dressing and managing incontinence was because of community backlash, Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has said.
“We always said when we were implementing these generational changes that we’d listen to older people and we’d respond to their experiences of the new system, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Rae told ABC’s News Breakfast this morning.
“Obviously, people have made clear that they want showering, they want dressing and incontinence management considered as clinical care, and that’s the change that we’re making.”
The policy reversal to include services that started incurring out-of-pocket fees when Labor’s new aged care system came into effect last November will cost the budget $1 billion over the next four years, Rae said, adding that Health Minister Mark Butler will give more detail on the broader health budget at the National Press Club today.
Labor to tackle budget’s two biggest headaches in one go
Health Minister Mark Butler will unveil fixes to the country’s struggling aged care system alongside his overhaul of the $50 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme in his pre-budget speech focused on two of the government’s fastest-growing cost pressures.
Labor will spend $1 billion extra in next month’s budget to cover costs for older people in home care who need help showering, dressing and managing incontinence – services that started incurring out-of-pocket fees when Labor’s new aged care system came into effect last November.
The change for about 350,000 older Australians with home care packages, whether full-time pensioners or self-funded retirees, follows a flood of complaints about people forgoing showers or not leaving the house because of increased costs.
The policy reversal is expected to be among a handful of aged care changes Butler will reveal in a keynote to the National Press Club on Wednesday. The speech will also unveil Labor’s plans to slow growth in the NDIS, including by boosting services outside the scheme, so fewer people rely on it.
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the federal government’s long-awaited overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler is due to outline his changes in a speech to the National Press Club at 12.30pm, AEST.
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