Submission to the Review of Pricing Arrangements in Residential Aged Care

In September 2002, the Commonwealth Government announced a Review of Pricing Arrangements in Residential Aged Care. The Review, headed by Professor Warren Hogan, provides a timely opportunity to examine long-term financing options for the aged care sector.

The Productivity Commission’s submission draws on experience and insights gained from its public inquiry into Nursing Home Subsidies, a major Conference on Ageing that it organised in 1999 and previous staff research.

The submission focuses on three areas.

• First, an assessment of the current funding and delivery arrangements for aged care services, which reveals several problems that need to be addressed.
• Second, an analysis of the implications of ageing, trends in disability rates and other key influences on the future demand for and cost of these services.
• Finally, the Commission examines the merits of a number of reform options, including broader changes to secure the aged care system’s effective performance in the longer term.