Rising Healthcare Costs Force Elders To Sell Homes

Ageing Minister Mark Butler revealed that the elder population of Australia is resorting to selling their homes to afford rising healthcare costs. These elders resort to a “fire sale” or knocking down the prices as low as they possibly could. 

Butler said the government needs to make aged care reforms to address the elders’ needs. Based on his meetings with different aged sectors, it was revealed that the older citizens are very much concerned and worried about their health needs. Much of their anxieties are based on what healthcare products and services would cost in the future. 

Butler said that the underlying message is that the older population believes they are not receiving the right quality of care from the current system. 

Last year, the Productivity Commission released a report that recommended major changes to financing aged care. These include more options and user-pays in aged care services. The series of meetings organized by the Council on the Ageing was to solicit feedback and gauge public opinion. 

The Federal Government, meanwhile, said that it will announce plans to respond to the commission’s recommendations. Butler, however, declined to comment what plans will be introduced. 

The latest statistics show that Australians are living 25 years longer compared to 100 years before. This underscores the need for better access to care. Data also forecast that in the next few years, there will be more people aged 60 years old compared to kids under five years old. 

The World Health Organization has urged governments around the world to provide adequate healthcare services to people of old age.

Tagged aged care, Mark Butler, Productivity Commission