The hours of care received by Home Care Package recipients continued to fall in the March 2024 quarter, continuing a five-year trend.
"It is significantly below the average nine hours per client per week provided prior to the implementation of the Consumer Directed Care model in July 2015," states the latest Aged Care Financial Performance Survey Sector Report by aged care accountants StewartBrown.
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In the March quarter, home care recipients received 5.13 hours of care on average per recipient per week, down from 5.14 hours in the March quarter in 2023, the report states.
Other home care highlights from the report were:
- Unspent funds were on average $14,309 for every home care recipient.
- Total unspent funds are now estimated to be more than $3.9 billion, including those held by home care providers and the Government.
- Home care providers' operating results improved "marginally" in the March 2024 quarter to a surplus of $3.41 per client per day, compared with $3.39 pcpd in March 2023.
- The home care sector, like residential aged care, is operating with "legislative uncertainty", with Support at Home reforms delayed until 2025 and changes to the Commonwealth Home Support Program extended to 2027 at the earliest.
- Consumers contribute less than 2.6% of their home care funding, a fact considered by the Aged Care Taskforce's deliberations.
The report is compiled from data from 1,202 aged care homes, 210 Approved Provider organisations, and 68,266 Home Care Packages.
