PRESS RELEASE
20 April 2005
Bureaucrats Bungle While the Aged Care Crisis Continues
In December 2004 the government finally decided on a 3% funding increase for residential care to compensate providers
for inflation for the 2003 – 2004 year. This increase was then delayed as Providers negotiated with DHBs to get the
money without any extra strings attached.
However, the funding has yet to be passed on because the Ministry of Health’s payment division HeathPAC is in disarray.
Adding insult to injury, compensation for the Holidays Act has also been delayed. The irony is that DHBs received the
money months ago, but they did not know how to pass it on to providers. Therefore, they went back to the MOH for advice
and now they are trying to interpret that advice.
“What this situation reveals is that the whole system supporting aged care funding is a bureaucratic shambles. Every
step of the way there seems to be a severe disconnect - whether it’s between the Government and the MOH, or the MOH and
DHBs or DHBs and HealthPAC”.
“The people who pay for these delays are aged care providers. They are the ones who carry the financial risks for
inflation and the Holidays Act”.
“The government, the Ministry of Health and DHBs should be ashamed that it has taken so long to pass on an inflation
adjustment for the July 2003 – June 2004 financial year”.
“I hope that the government, the MOH, HealthPAC, DHBs and DHBNZ sort themselves out otherwise the delays will result in
more closures of residential care facilities. Providers cannot carry the costs of inflation and the Holidays Act any
longer” said Martin Taylor CEO of HealthCare Providers NZ.
ENDS
HealthCare Providers NZ (HCPNZ) was launched on March 10 2005, to represent the aged care sector (residential care
facilities and private geriatric hospitals). It represents around 75 per cent of residential care facilities and private
geriatric hospitals, and was established as a result of Residential Care NZ and the NZ Private Hospitals Association
joining operations.