Moves to improve transparency of home care costs

Home care providers will be required to publish their pricing information in a new standardised schedule on the My Aged Care website by mid-year.

Aged care minister Ken Wyatt said the move will help older adults understand and compare service offerings and prices across providers.

“The greater transparency will also address the concerns raised about high administration prices being charged by some home care providers, which reduces the amount of taxpayer subsidised funds being spent on actual support,” Wyatt said.

The government is currently monitoring providers’ publication of home care pricing information, he added.

“Since 30 November 2018, it has been a legal requirement for all approved home care providers to publish their existing pricing information through the My Aged Care Service Finder,” Wyatt said.

And yet, as of 7 March, just under a quarter (22 per cent) of providers failed to do so and have since been contacted by the government.

While the Department has so far simply requested that the providers rectify the issue, Wyatt said compliance action can include the imposition of sanctions.

“The objective of the department’s compliance program is for providers to voluntarily comply with their responsibilities and where non-compliance is identified, to return the provider to compliance as quickly as possible,” Wyatt said.

Home care providers will be able to publish their pricing information within the schedule from April this year but will be required to do so by 1 July.