Elderly ‘undisturbed’ by rest home changes

Press, 6 October 1987, Page 8

Elderly ‘undisturbed’ by rest home changes

By 1

PETER LUKE,

political reporter

The Minister of Social Welfare, Dr Cullen, has denied a report that the new rest home subsidy was penalising the poor elderly. The report, in the “Dominion” newspaper, suggested some elderly people could be forced to leave their present rest homes because the new subsidy did not meet their needs.

Dr Cullen yesterday described this suggestion as mischievous, saying that the Government had gone to considerable pains

to ensure that rest home residents would not be disturbed by subsidy changes. “Elderly people in rest homes have nothing to fear from the restructuring of the rest home subsidy scheme” he said.

The department’s annual report said that at March 31 this year, 3040 patients in rest homes were assisted under the scheme, at a cost of $676,227 a week. One year earlier the corresponding figures were 2334 patients at $354,927 a week. Dr Cullen said that the restructuring was de-

signed to pay a level of subsidy appropriate to the amount of care each patient required.

Under the new fee structure, the full askingfee of a rest home proprietor would not automatically be paid. The subsidy would be paid according to the real cost of care, including a reasonable profit margin, he said.

Tbe department would also check that residents were receiving the full standard of care being paid for. “Homes which experience financial difficulty in accommodating residents

within the Interim subsidy levels can apply for a review of the subsidies payable,” said Dr Cullen. He said the rapid rise in subsidy payments in recent years forced the restructuring. The increases had been out of step with the demand for care, the costs to be met, and the cost of equivalent care in rest homes run by church and welfare agencies.

The “Dominion” reported that under the old system the department made good the difference between a patient’s national superannuation and the rest home fee.