Plains Producer

EXCLUSIVE:
By Terry Williams
$1.50 Wednesday, April 30, 2014 LEST WE FORGET
CARE FACTOR





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make the LOCAL change
Major changes coming to aged care calculations
We will remember
ANZAC Day ceremonies
were held around the district
on Friday, acknowledging
the sacrifce of our nations
forces, both past and
present.
Reports and photos Pages
8 to 12.
Photo: Lisa Redpath
SIGNIFICANT and far reaching
fnancial changes to the way the cost
of aged care is calculated will start
on July 1.
The changes will not affect cur-
rent residents in aged care facilities
and those already receiving care at
home but if the nature of an exist-
ing home care package changes, it is
likely the new provisions will apply.
The changes are a result of the
Living Longer Living Better aged
care reform package announced by
the former Federal Labor Govern-
ment in April, 2012.
It is a complex system which
must be initiated by all aged care
facilities receiving Commonwealth
funding assistance
Balaklavas Mill Court Homes
and Gilbert Valley Senior Citizens
Homes, Riverton, as well as other
local aged care providers in Mallala,
Hamley Bridge, Snowtown and
Clare, are currently working towards
instigating the changes and prepar-
ing to advise families and clients.
New costings for each should
be fnalised and available by the
end of May.
Balaklava Mill Court Homes
chief executive officer, Graham
Ackland, said Mill Court and Gilbert
Valley Homes had received expert
advice on the changes.
We are now fnalising what
our charges will be for new clients
using our services after July 1, Mr
Ackland said.
These soon will be published on
its website and the My Aged Care
website.
I am always available to help
people understand the new arrange-
ments, he said.
Continued Page 4
NEED FOR SPEED: A return for motor racing at Port Wakeeld on the cards: Page 2
HISTORY FESTIVAL:
Whats happening in
your area - Page 6
NEWS District v
4 www.plainsproducer.com.au Plains Producer, Wednesday, April 30, 2014
CURRENTLY the way some-
one pays for their accommoda-
tion in an aged care facility is
determined by the type of care
they receive.
If residing in low care or an
extra services place, the payment
is an accommodation bond. If re-
siding in a high care facility they
pay a daily fee which is called an
accommodation charge.
After July 1, new residents will
be able to choose to pay for the
cost of accommodation through
either a:
Lump sum (known as a
Refundable Accommodation
Deposit or RAD), or
Daily charge (known as a
Daily Accommodation Payment
or DAP),or
A combination of lump sum
and daily charge.
Unlike now, aged care facilities
will need to publish the market
price of their accommodation
payments on their website, the
My Aged Care website and in
their brochures.
The Daily Accommodation
Payment (DAP) is calculated
using a government set interest
rate which at the moment is 6.63
per cent.
For example, if a residential
aged care facility prices their
Refundable Accommodation De-
posit (RAD) payments for entry
at say, $300,000, the equivalent
Daily Accommodation Payment
(DAP) would be $54.64 per day.
Of course you may decide to
pay, say, $200,000 by lump sum
and the remaining $100,000 via a
Daily Accommodation Payment,
which would be $18.21 per day.
In relation to care payments,
the current daily care fee, which
is set at 85per cent of the age pen-
sion, will continue to apply to all
residents of an aged care facility.
Currently, an income test
is used to determine someones
ability to contribute above the
basic fee towards their care costs.
The income tested fee is levied
at 41.67c per dollar of income
above a certain threshold and
is capped at the cost of care or
a daily limit which is currently
$73.86 per day.
From July 1, new residents
entering residential aged care
will be assessed based on both
their assets and their income to
determine their capacity to pay
for the costs of their care beyond
the basic fee.
The formula to be applied is:
50c per dollar of income
above $24,731, plus,
17.5 per cent of assets valued
between $45,000 to $154,179,
plus,
One per cent of assets valued be-
tween $154,179 and $372,537, plus
Two per cent of assets valued
above $372,537.
From the total of the above
calculation we deduct the gov-
ernments accommodation sup-
plement of $52.49 per day to
determine how much contribution
over and above the basic daily care
fee (85 per cent of age pension)
a resident will be required to pay
toward the cost of their care.
A big change here is that un-
less a protected person remains
living in the former home, the
value of the former home will be
assessed at $154,179 as part of
these calculations.
A protected person is:
A spouse or dependent child,
A carer, who is eligible to
receive an Income Support Pay-
ment and who has been living in
the home for at least two years,
A close relative who is eligible
to receive an Income Support
Payment who has been living in
the home for at least fve years.
Mr Potts said the new rules
maintained the existing safety
net for access to residential aged
care for the fnancially disadvan-
taged in our communities.
Most aged care facilities
currently need to keep a ratio
of people who are fnancially
disadvantaged (called supported
residents) to receive funding from
the government, this will continue
under the new reform rules but
the calculation for who does and
does not qualify as a supported
resident will change with the
reforms, he said.
At the moment an asset test is
used to determine if you qualify to
be a supported resident but under
these reforms eligibility to have
some or all of your accommoda-
tion costs subsidised by the gov-
ernment as a supported resident
will be based on an assessment
of both your assets and income.
People with assets below
$45,000 and income below
$24,371 per annum will not be
required to make a contribution
towards their accommodation
costs.
People with assets above
$45,000 and/or income above
$24,371 per annum will have the
ability to be supported based on
the outcome of the two tests.
For example, someone with
income of $26,000 per annum and
assets of $90,000 would have their
ability to contribute as follows:
Income contribution at
50 cents for each dollar above
$24,731 = $634.50
The asset contribution at 17.5
per cent of assets above $45,000
= $7,875
This results in an accom-
modation contribution of $23.38
per day.
THE new system brings complexities to the costs of care and accommodation
in an aged care facility. Drew Potts explains:
RESPONSIBILITY for
determining how much an
individual pays toward the
costs of their home care will
shift from the care provider to
the government using income
criteria set by Centrelink.
Under this new system full
pensioners wont pay anything
other than the $9.57 basic
daily fee for their home care
package.
Part pensioners and self-
funded retirees will generally
pay a levy of 50 cents for every
dollar earned above $24,371
per annum plus the basic
daily fee
However, the maximum
amount payable over and above
the basic daily fee is capped at
$10,000 per annum.
Basically everyone pays the
$9.57 per day but part pension-
ers and self-funded retirees
have to pay a levy on top of this.
Home care packages from July 1:
Expert: How aged care
reform could affect you
From Page 1
Families and those people already
in aged care can rest assured the
changes will not affect them but for
those considering entering aged care
it is important to understand there will
be a revised system which is going to
cost more for various levels of care.
The reforms differ for aged care
facilities and home care packages.
For those receiving home care, re-
sponsibility for determining how much
an individual pays toward the costs
of their home care will shift from the
care provider to the government, using
income criteria set by Centrelink.
The new system is much more
complex for people entering an aged
care facility.
The reforms mean considerable
changes to the way the costs of care
and accommodation are calculated.
Mill Court Homes utilised the expect
services of Drew Potts, a fnancial
adviser with Western Pacifc Financial
Group and part of the Aged Care Gurus
Network specialising in the provision
of aged care fnancial planning advice.
Mr Potts said understanding the
changes and how they could impact cost
of care, eligibility for age pension and
estate planning wishes was essential.
We expect many new residents
entering care after July 1 to pay higher
fees, Mr Potts said.
People need as much information as
they can get in order to make informed
fnancial decisions about these matters.
Changes to fnancial means testing
arrangements will affect the way in
which each persons fnancial capacity
to contribute toward their cost of care
and accommodation will be calculated.
This will potentially see many
people paying a greater amount towards
these costs than in the past.
The need for specialist aged care
fnancial advice will become even more
important.
Decisions around matters such as
what to do with the family home, farms,
investments etc need to be carefully
considered.
There is no one size fts all
approach from a fnancial advice per-
spective and the correct structuring of
your assets and income can ensure you
maximise your pension entitlements,
achieve affordable ongoing costs as-
sociated with aged care and have your
estate planning wishes met.
Mr Potts provided the Plains Pro-
ducer with a synopsis of the reforms,
shown in a separate article (right).
New clients
can expect
higher fees
BALAKLAVA hospital will receive a
mobile X-ray machine as part continuing
improvements to rural medical services.
Over the past 12 months, country
hospitals have received a variety of
equipment, including 20 new mobile x-
ray machines, two ultrasound machines,
a digital dental x-ray unit and a CT scan-
ning machine,as part of a $2.6 million
investment by the State government.
Balaklavas machine should be avail-
able by the end of June.
Clare hospital already has received
its mobile X-ray unit.
Health Minister, Jack Snelling, said
the roll out of new equipment was the
result of an extensive audit of the states
hospitals to assess each health services
imaging needs.
The SA Medical Imaging team vis-
ited every hospital in the state to fgure
out exactly where the new equipment
was most needed and could have the
most impact, Mr Snelling said.
The brand-new, state-of-the-art
equipment uses low doses of radiation,
making the x-ray process safer for the
patient, as well as the staff member
performing the procedure.
They are also light and portable
and can be taken to a patients bedside
with ease.
Regional Development Minister and
local Frome MP, Geoff Brock (above),
said having thetechnology in country
communities meant people could receive
more care close to home, reducing the
stress and fnancial burden associated
with regular travel to Adelaide.
We need to continue to invest in our
country hospitals to ensure all South
Australians have access to high quality
health care, Mr Brock said.
The x-ray machines can also be used in
conjunction with new digital processors
rolled out to country hospitals over the
past 18 months, improving the quality of
x-rays and allowing them to be digitally
sent to metropolitan radiologists for
interpretation.
Mr Snelling said this meant patients
could have their images seen more
quickly than before, improving treatment
times and leading to better outcomes.
We have also delivered other high-
tech medical imaging equipment, such as
ultrasounds and fuoroscopy units, digital
OPG and CT scanning machines that will
be valuable additions for larger country
hospitals, which are able to perform more
complex imaging services, he said.
X-ray machine announced for local hospital
POPULAR fction author
Fiona McIntosh will be back
in Clare next week to launch
her latest book, Tapestry.
The launch will be in
Edwards Arcade, Clare, next
to Collins Booksellers and
Zest Caf on Wednesday,
May 7 at 7 for 7.30pm. Zest
will stay open for meals dur-
ing the evening. Tickets are
available from Miss Gracie
Taylors Preloved Books in
Ness Street, the Clare Public
Library and Collins Booksell-
ers at $12 each, with some
available at the door if not
sold out.
Fiona is the patron of the
Clare Writers Festival The
Write Week! and is looking
forward to visiting the Clare
Valley again.
Fiona spent 15 years run-
ning a travel magazine with
her husband before turning
her hand successfully to fc-
tion writing across various
genres.
Fiona McIntosh will be
in Clare next week to
launch her latest book.
Fiona McIntosh in
Clare for book launch