Rising costs of living are hitting aged care providers hard and recent federal budget has offered little relief, according to the chief of one of New Zealand and Australia's major aged care providers.
Cameron Holland from Ryman Healthcare Australia said the budget lacked emergency funding to address the widening chasm between the costs of running a facility and inflation, which as of this week sits at 7.3 per cent.
"Operators will end up covering that bill which will come out of their capital accounts," Cameron said.
"It will just put further risk on the sustainability of the whole sector, unfortunately."
Aged Care Insite spoke with about the budget, the new AN-ACC funding model, star rating system and sustainability of the sector.
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Very relevant comments. The government has allowed funding to fall behind the cost of inputs significantly. This is driving the widening gap in sector operating losses and will inevitably result in closures and poorer quality of care.
I agree there needs to be more ways to charge the costs of hotel and accommodation to the users.
The higher AN-ACC is a false hope as the the new rates will only temporarily benefit providers. The extra revenue will be entirely consumed by higher mandatory minutes next year and the skyrocketing labour costs already affecting the sector.