$15 per food delivery? These new aged care prices are outrageous

Last week the government released a report showing the indicative prices of Support at Home – aged care offered in your own home – services from July 1. Some of the prices are eye-watering and have really got me questioning how much care and support people will actually receive. And for those with wealth, is it worth getting a package?

Under Support at Home, your services will be classified into three service groups: clinical care, independence and everyday living. Clinical care will be funded by the government with no co-contribution.

Services to support independence and everyday living such as help with showering, dressing, meal preparation and home maintenance are all priced at around $100 per hour.Credit: Getty

A means test that looks at your assets and income will determine your contributions towards independence and everyday living services. The co-contribution for independence services will range from 5 per cent for full pensioners to 50 per cent for self-funded retirees, and for everyday living it will be between 17.5 per cent and 80 per cent.

The report, which was the result of a survey of 300 home-care providers and the prices they anticipate charging under Support at Home, gave the low, high and median price for a range of services many care recipients use.

The median price for a registered nurse was $160 per hour, while many allied health professionals such as psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers have prices above $200 per hour.

Services to support independence and everyday living such as help with showering, dressing, meal preparation and home maintenance are priced around $100 per hour, while meal delivery has a median price of $15 per meal. If you are getting five lunches and five dinners delivered, that means a cost of $150 on top of the cost of your meals.

Let’s look at a hypothetical example. Shirley is a self-funded retiree who will receive a level 5 Support at Home package which provides $40,000 a year of funding. This is what her package might look like:

• One hour a week of nursing and allied health, costing $9880. Shirley will pay $0.
• Two and a half hours of independence services a week at a cost of around $13,000. Shirley will pay $6500.
• Three hours a week of help with everyday living at a cost of $15,600. Shirley will pay $12,480.

For less than an hour a day of services, Shirley will need to pay almost $19,000 a year. Whether she thinks it’s good “bang for her buck” will depend on what the services would cost privately.

But Shirley isn’t the only one paying – the government, funded by taxpayers, contributes an additional $19,500. This brings the total cost to almost $40,000 per year for less than an hour a day.

Is it worth it? If it provides the care and support she needs to live independently then it’s a worthwhile investment, for her and the government. If it doesn’t, and she needs to move into residential aged care, what have the reforms achieved?

Rachel Lane is author of the bestselling books Aged Care. Who Cares? and Downsizing Made Simple with fellow finance expert Noel Whittaker. The new edition of Downsizing Made Simple is now available online.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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