Funding package with no accommodation bonds for high care “soon”

Federal Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, addressed the National Press Club last week and said a major new package of long-term funding measures for the aged care industry would be announced “early next year” (2007).

They will represent the final response to the comprehensive report presented by Professor Warren Hogan – completed in 2004 – which described the industry’s future funding needs.

He confirmed that the package “will not include accommodation bonds for high care, as suggested by Professor Hogan. This decision has been made after lengthy consultation with the industry – not just aged care providers but also residents, their families and other consumer advocates.”

He also stated that he did “not believe the state should control an industry such as aged care so tightly that it eliminates freedom of choice for individuals and stifles competition.

“We believe that the state must ensure quality of care and equity of access, but beyond that must not interfere in the rights of individuals to make decisions for themselves, and to make additional contributions to their aged care if they choose to.”