Aged care is back in the spotlight, following calls for further investment into senior health by industry leaders.
Catholic Health Australia has urged all political parties and candidates to put health and aged care at the forefront of their campaigns after the Prime Minister called the federal election for May 3rd.
The peak body has called for reforms to ensure all Australians have access to quality, affordable, and sustainable healthcare, whether they live in a capital city, a rural town or a remote area.
“This election campaign is a chance to outline real reform in health and aged care, ensuring private hospitals remain viable, public hospitals attract appropriate investment, aged care residents receive quality and sustainable care, and regional communities are not left behind,” said CHA CEO Jason Kara.
CHA also called for policies to improve the sustainability of private hospitals, including moving towards a National Private Price and reforming the private health insurance premium round.
“Private hospitals are crucial in reducing the burden on the public system but many services are being forced to close due to insufficient funding,” said Kara.
In aged care, CHA’s proposed reforms included strengthening hardship provisions to ensure people don’t miss out under the new Aged Care Act.
“The accommodation supplement for aged care residents in financial hardship must be increased and processing times for hardship applications must be reduced to prevent delays in essential care,” Kara added.
“We also need a staged six-month transition to the Support at Home program to ensure providers are ready for the new system.”
Meanwhile, greater support is needed for both hospitals and aged care services in regional and remote areas.
“About one in three Australians live outside a capital city, yet they face greater barriers to care. We need urgent investment to ensure regional and rural communities receive the same quality and choice of care as everyone else.”
CHA also urged policymakers to expand funding and improve access to palliative care, build more social housing and support hospitals to become more environmentally sustainable.
“As Catholics, human dignity, social justice and the common good are central to our advocacy, especially during elections,” said Kara.
“A measure of a healthy society is that we support people to flourish, regardless of their background, and particularly in times when people are sick, frail and vulnerable. This election, we shouldn’t accept issues like the health and care for our most vulnerable being ignored in public policy debate.”
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