Time is running out to remedy the provider funding problem in Home Care

The aged care sector is all too aware that government funding for its range of care programs is not generous. Given bureaucratic frugality, providers should not make the situation worse by mishandling the meager resources provided, writes David Powis.

To operate a successful program and remain viable, providers must:

• deliver the required services
• meet the compliance expectations
• satisfy the stakeholders’ needs
• secure sufficient funds to remain viable
• be competitive in a tightly controlled operating environment.

Budgeting services in any of these programs becomes a challenge due to the external factors, such as regulations, geography, communication, and specialised cultural needs, as well as localised factors, which cause extra cost through inefficiency, staff availability etc.

To ensure providers meet the identified needs of clients, who are the primary purpose for which the program was designed, the government has devised a scheme where only through the delivery of services can a provider recover its cost of operating and a slim margin.

Failure to deliver all funded services puts providers’ viability and their future existence in jeopardy. This reflects clearly in the “unspent funds” each provider reports.

But there is still time. Action to redress this potentially damaging trend and reverse the process to bring funding, servicing, and provider viability back into a balanced state that will deliver the desired outcome for all stakeholders is still possible.

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Click to read full article in Community Care Review, written by David Powis, aged care Management Consultant and the Managing Director of e-Tools Software.

If you have enquiries or need assistance in this area, please don’t hesitate to contact David or the e-Tools Software team.