User knows best in Aged Care

July 8, 2015

The third and final phase of the current changes to aged care has been introduced this month. In an effort to reform and improve the age care system, consecutive governments have since 2012, progressively introduced significant changes aimed at giving older Australians greater control over the money spent on their welfare. A major objective of the new system is to promote care within the home by focusing on the needs and preferences of users.  The main changes are:

• a central client record containing personal, assessment and service information will be available to users, their families and care providers
• new entrants will now go through a nationally consistent screening and assessment process before a face to face assessment
• people receiving services within the home will be able to select their provider and be given a monthly account of the services they are entitled to and how much has been spent

The new program is expected to impact over 200,000 people and consolidates the four previously separate support programs into the new Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). The introduction of consumer directed care removes spending decisions worth billions of dollars from the providers and passes them to the users and their families. Seniors will now have increased control and flexibility when choosing how their government money is spent. Some may purchase new equipment to aid them at home while others may require shopping or cleaning services support. While the introduction of these changes brings to a close three years of reform, the ongoing need for better outcomes for government expenditure and user care is likely to drive further advances in the consumer empowered model.