Proposal for New Residential Aged Care Funding Model

The Department of Health has been working with the Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), the University of Wollongong (UW) and a number of clinicians and providers across the country to undertake the Resource Utilisation and Classification Study (RUCS). The project followed on from the Department’s 2017 review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) used in residential aged care (RAC). The aim of the RUCS project was to identify cost drivers and the proportion of care costs that are shared and individually driven as well as to develop a new funding model.
The comprehensive study comprises of seven reports which can be accessed here. The new assessment and funding model proposed by AHSRI and UW has been termed as the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) system. The AN-ACC system proposes to introduce a casemix classification system, separate funding between fixed and variable components, separate funding and care planning assessments and introduce external funding assessors. The system aims to incentivise quality and rehabilitative care as well as collate and provide ongoing and useful insights into quality indicators and the costs of delivering care.
Acknowledging that many people within the sector are navigating through changing times, we have prepared a summary of the RUCS, the proposed new funding model and assessment tools. In additional, we have highlighted key potential issues that we have identified with the model which we think will be important to address before introducing any new model. This also formed part of our submission to the consultation period for the RUCS which closed on 31 May 2019.
You will find our report.