A Department of Health and Aged Care webinar on the new Support at Home Program – now pushed back to 1 July 2025 – has signalled how the Government plans to claw back the estimated $2.6 billion in unspent funds.
During the two-hour webinar – which was attended by about 4,000 viewers – it was revealed that under Support at Home, if recipients don’t use their budget within the quarter, it will reset for the next quarter to avoid the problem of unspent funds accumulating.
The budgets will also be determined by a classification system based on the answers collected during assessments – much like the classifications used to determine AN-ACC funding. (See main image for the 11 draft classifications – the percentages are the proportion from the initial study of 2,000 who fall into each of the classifications).
However, details of the new Program will be released in June 2024 – giving providers a lead time of only 12 months to prepare.
Speaking to aged care providers, most plan their strategies at least 18 months in advance.
As previously announced, from July 2024 all older people needing Support at Home will be assessed under a new single assessment system.
An Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) will assess needs and funnel consumers into existing programs. A trial of the IAT is currently underway and will end this month – around 3,500 assessments have been done using the new tool.
The SOURCE: the cash flow of small home care providers will be most hurt by the clawing back of funds.
