Prices for Support at Home services have increased significantly. Some older people have informed us that they are now receiving lower levels of service for the same amount of funding.
There is a genuine risk that older people may decide to forgo services they are assessed as needing because they decide they are not affordable. The rapid increase in hardship applications is also a sign that there are affordability pressures for participants in the Support at Home program.
This submission argues that the Support at Home pricing approach should support and inform a system that delivers transparent and understandable “value for money” choices for aged care participants. There should be a clear plan by the Australian Government to deliver this with IHACPA (Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority ) playing a key role.