Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Bill 2016

Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Bill 2016

• Eligible consumers are required to find a provider with an available home care place, limiting their choice of provider.
• Home care places are allocatedto approvedproviders through the Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR).This process isresourceintensive for providers and highly competitivewith many unsuccessful applicants each year.
• New places are usually allocated once a year, resulting in an uneven distribution of home care packages to consumers.

• Funding for a home care package will follow the consumer, allowing the consumer to choose a provider that is suited to them and to direct the funding to that provider.
• No ACAR for home care (after the currentACAR), significantly reducing red tape and regulation for providers.
• The concept of ‘home care places’ will no longer exist, removing the current regulation associated with management of places, e.g. transfers and variations.
• Packages will be made available to consumers progressively throughout the year.

• Home care packages are not portable for the consumer (as the home care place is allocated to an approved provider in respect of a specific location or aged care planning region).
• Unspent funds can be retained by the provider – this can be a significant financial disincentive for the consumer to change provider.

• Aconsumer will be able to change their provider if they wish, including if they move to another area to live.
• Unspent funds will move with the consumer to a new home care provider, supporting portability and continuity of care and services.
• All consumers (new and existing) will be able to exercise portability.

• No consistent approach to prioritising consumers for access to a home care package.
• Providers maintain their own waiting lists. As a result, consumers often need to be on multiple waiting lists.
• There can be significant variation in waiting periods for packages across Australia, with no systematic way of addressing the variation.

• There will be a consistent national system for assigning packages to eligible consumers through My Aged Care.
• The prioritisation process will take into account the relative needs and circumstances of eligible individuals and the time a person has been waiting for care.
• My Aged Care will support consumers who have been assigned a package with referrals to approved providers, but the consumer will be able to select their provider.

• Criteria to assess suitability to become an approved provider are set out in the Aged Care Act 1997and the Principles. 53 mandatory criteria must be considered in assessing each application, which applicants find difficult and timeconsuming to address.
• Duplication in the application process for becoming an approved provider in residential care, home care and flexible care.
• Approved provider status lapses after two years if the provider does not hold an allocation of places.

• Legislative criteria for assessing suitability to become an approvedprovider for all types of care will be streamlined, with greater focus on the capacity of the organisation asa whole, rather than individual key personnel. All providers must continue to meet quality review or accreditation standards.
• Existing providers of residential care and flexible care will be able to ‘opt in’ to become home care providers (through a simplified process rather than a full application).
• Approved provider status will no longer lapse after two years if the provider does not hold an allocation of places - this will apply acrosshome care, residential care and flexible care.

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