SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT LOOKS FOR SOLUTIONS TO VIOLENCE AND ABUSE
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CHA SAYS AGED CARE SUPPORT WORKERS MUST ALSO GET A PAY RISE
November 7, 2022
By Jason Kara
CHA Aged Care Director
There has been a flurry of activity in the aged care space since the election of the Albanese Government – the passage of two major aged care reform bills, the commencement of the AN-ACC funding model, and a review of the Aged Care Quality Standards to name a few.
In amongst this the Government has created the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA), a welcome step for providers and consumers with much-needed transparency and a promise of real certainty in the future.
As the organisation’s inaugural Chair David Tune AO PSM says: “IHACPA’s established role in public hospital pricing relies on a consultative, transparent and evidence-based approach, and we are committed to these same principles in developing aged care costing and pricing advice.”
As part of our mission Catholic Health Australia has been working with members to determine how best to deliver quality outcomes for clients and how we can meet future demand from an ageing population.
CHA commissioned EY Port Jackson Partners to analyse modelling from accountancy firm StewartBrown, identifying risk and opportunities and informing ways we can work with the government. These formed part of our submission to the IHACPA’s recent consultation on its pricing framework.
Over the next two years we face challenging conditions of declining margins and continuing workforce supply constraints.
The insights that came from this analysis demonstrate a pressing need for our sector to collaborate on sustainable funding models.
This challenging outlook will inevitably stifle the investment needed to deliver a forecasted 80,000 bed increase in capacity – this is on top of replacing 60,000 beds approaching end of asset life – over the next five years alone.
The IHACPA will spend the next two years developing its policy approach, methodology and high-level principles that will govern their advice to government on the pricing framework for aged care.
Getting this right will be critical. An extended lag in adjusting the new funding model to real costs will be problematic for an industry that is already facing significant headwinds, particularly for smaller operators.
In our submission to the IHACPA Pricing Framework consultation, CHA is advocating a number of approaches to improve quality. These include:
- Transition support for the sector: support in business consulting; support to improve ICT and financial systems to meet the needs of the new systems; care minute amnesties where impacted by labour shortages; and improved transition funding
- Funding model reform: better align payments to client need and cost; investigate sustainability of the daily rates in small regional locations which are relatively least compensated for additional cost and labour pressures; better align pay decisions with federal funding.
- Monitoring of key risks during transition: CHA intends to push for market monitoring mechanisms (on provider financial performance, and capital investment) during the transition period to help inform the development of the new pricing framework and better respond with transition support.
- Continued policy co-design with sector stakeholders: Broadening the general care classification to include reablement and social activities as part of an increased minutes target; explicitly recognising enrolled nurses in care minutes, with targeted support for upskilling to strengthen career pathways for ENs as recognised in current awards; investigate permitting greater user contributions, particularly for accommodation costs.
