The new Support at Home Program for older people is introducing a ‘free market’ transactional aged care system. It’s a retrograde step, Sarah Russell reports.
Forty years ago, the Hawke Government introduced a significant aged care initiative that was in line with traditional Labor values. The Home and Community Care (HACC) program provided government-subsidised home and community-based support services. These services – such as meals on wheels, community transport and nursing care – enabled older people to live independently in their own homes.
Pay per shower: fully-funded aged care turns market-driven aged supportby Dr Sarah Russell