Mission and margin: aged care providers need to advocate on alternative sources now

With aged care at a financial crossroads – and the Budget Papers being drawn up – there is another area where providers can advocate that will also ease the burden on the taxpayer. This week, StewartBrown released its latest financial performance results and yet again, it makes for dire reading. Even home care – which fared well in the Government’s Quarterly Financial Snapshot – is seeing its results decline as the industry awaits the new home care program. What then for the sector?

With the May Budget just six weeks away, it’s clear that advocacy is needed to push for funding reforms as outlined by StewartBrown, that will enable providers to increase their revenue. All providers should be supporting the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) with the larger operators also lending their voice to the discussion. But the Budget only goes so far – and there is another pillar where providers can also push for change. We are seeing an increasing trend towards providers seeking partnerships either with Governments or the private sector as a way of both delivering on their mission and driving alternative sources of revenue. See the story in today’s issue about WA provider Hall & Prior’s new community centre in Albany, backed by the State Government. In Queensland, Infinite Care has also partnered with the State Government to open a 45-bed rehabilitation ward at its Cairns aged care home. There is also an increasing number of operators looking to bring a commercial element to their developments, whether that is healthcare, childcare or acute care. TLC Healthcare in Melbourne is the prime example of this model, with its aged care homes delivering an integrated care model with medical centres, gyms and sports bars on its sites. Not all providers have the capital to invest in these kind of services – but there are steps that the Government can take to encourage these alternative revenue sources.

TLC Healthcare CEO Lou Pascuzzi told SATURDAY last year that its first medical centre was built out of its retained earnings, but shortly afterwards, the Department of Health and Aged Care changed the permitted use of RADs to include the construction of medical services on aged care sites.

The Government recognises that aged care providers are businesses that need to deliver a profit or surplus to remain viable. It wants solutions – it’s up to the sector to deliver. As Uniting NSW.ACT Tracey Burton said at this year’s LEADERS SUMMIT, what happens now is on our watch.