Coalition members, Greens and the entire crossbench have pointed out some uncomfortable truths to the aged care minister.
Federal aged care minister Sam Rae has been given some food for thought with a large group of parliamentarians, led by independent Senator David Pocock, writing him an open letter calling for urgent reforms to the Support at Home program.
Almost half of the federal parliament and nearly two-thirds of the Senate – including support from the Coalition, the Greens and the entire crossbench – are signatories to the letter which includes:
- restoring human oversight to aged care assessments so they reflect genuine individual needs, not flawed algorithms;
- re-categorising showering, dressing and continence as clinical care, with no older Australian forced to pay excessive costs for basic hygiene;
- considering whether essential daily activities like meal preparation have been correctly classified;
- reviewing the 10% case management fee cap; and
- providing clear, transparent detail on implementation of upcoming price caps under Support at Home, as service costs have reportedly risen by up to 40%.
The government’s “no worse off” claims for the new Aged Care Act had been contradicted by growing complaints about the Support at Home program, said Senator Pocock.
“Unacceptably long wait times to access services, price gouging in fees and the government’s reliance on a broken algorithm for conducting assessments are common complaints being raised with me,” he said.
“We need to be able to keep older Australians safely living at home for as long as possible and the Albanese government needs to step up and fix reforms to aged care that are failing.
“Support at Home is not helping older Australians in the way the federal government promised and that’s having a deeply distressing, very human impact.
“A growing number of older Australians are getting in touch to say they can no longer afford help with the absolute basic necessities of life, from showering safely to preparing a nutritious meal.
“We have to do better than this as a country at looking after every generation, from youngest to oldest and that’s why together with the Coalition, the Greens and my crossbench colleagues we are calling on the minister to make urgent changes to the Support at Home program.”
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The open letter to Mr Rae said there was also a growing concern about the efficacy of the lntegrated Assessment Tool used to score people’s needs before allocation of Support at Home funding.
“We are hearing increasing reports from older Australians with high needs, including those living with MND and dementia, being reassessed at lower levels of funding despite health professionals determining that their conditions have deteriorated,” said the letter.
Senator Pocock said he found it “astounding” that both the Albanese government and the federal public service were allowing an algorithm to determine funding outcomes for older Australians in need of support.
“These decisions need to be made by a human for humans and we’re calling on Minister Rae to immediately cease the use of a broken algorithm in undertaking aged care assessments,” he said.
“I thank Senator Anne Ruston and Senator Penny Allman-Payne for their leadership on this issue and my crossbench colleagues for throwing their support behind this push to get a better outcome for older Australians and their carers.”
Senator Ruston was full-throated in her support for the letter’s concerns.
“When parliamentarians from across the political spectrum unite on an issue, it speaks volumes,” said Senator Ruston today.
“This is a damning indictment of the government’s failed Support at Home rollout and the real harm it is causing vulnerable older Australians.
“It is unacceptable that Labor is allowing a flawed algorithm to determine what care an older Australian can receive.
“Vulnerable older Australians, including those with MND, dementia and other progressive illnesses, are being denied the support they need and there is no ability for a human to step in even when the decision is clearly wrong.
“The government is relying on an automated system that clearly doesn’t work, while ignoring the expertise of doctors and nurses.”
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In parliamentary Question Time this afternoon, in response to a question from Rebekah Sharkie, the independent Member for Mayo, Mr Rae said:
“All of the assessments that are completed under the integrated assessment tool, or using the integrated assessment, or rather under the single assessment system, are completed by qualified human assessors with clinical input documented from start to finish.
“It’s about making sure that we’ve got an assessment process that is efficient, accurate and fair, so that no matter where you live in Australia or who comes to do the assessment, everybody is treated equitably.
“Since November, we’ve completed 180,000 assessments. In terms of the review process which is in place, there have been requests for review by less than half a percent of those 180,000 assessments.
“We now have assessment times consistently under a month for medium assessment times. So again, at every turn, we have sought to implement a system that is fairer for older people, that is accurate and efficient, and will continue to do so.”
The full letter to Minister Rae is available here.