But Professor Hogan, who called for more use of bonds in a 2004 aged care report prepared for the Government, said reforms announced on Sunday should boost capital spending on nursing homes and help meet the needs of the ageing population. John Howard announced a $1.5 billion aged care package on Sunday that included increases in daily fees for new high-care nursing home patients. The move was designed to lift nursing home incomes to enable operators to fund capital spending to meet growing demand.
But the package, the Government's final response to Professor Hogan's 2004 report, overlooks his call for nursing homes to be allowed to extend accommodation bonds from residents in low-care beds to those with high-care needs.
Ageing Minister Santo Santoro defended the reforms as fair and well-received, but Professor Hogan said residents should be able to choose between paying bonds or paying higher daily fees.
"When I wrote the report I thought it was so blind, bloody obvious that accommodation bonds should apply generally that ... it was so obvious even to blind Freddy and the drover's dog," Professor Hogan said.
He said he suspected the Prime Minister dismissed the proposal because he remembered the bitter debate over his 1997 attempt to introduce bonds to all levels of aged care. Mr Howard excluded high-care beds from the 1997 plan after an outcry led by the not-for-profit sector. Professor Hogan said the prohibition on high-care bonds in the new package reflected the "angst and the populist demagoguery" of the late 1990s.
"It is bewildering, but I can understand the political problems if they see it that way," Professor Hogan said.
"What they were doing effectively was discriminating against those who were less well-placed to actually gain from accommodation bonds and at the same time those who were better off could go and buy their way into the extra-service high care."
The Government's decision came despite acceptance by most sectors of the industry of the need for universal accommodation bonds, he said.
The test of the new package was whether higher daily fees would give nursing home operators the income to service new borrowing for the necessary capital expansion.
On the evidence, it appeared likely the package would provide sufficient income, he said.
Senator Santoro said extra daily fees and other concessions would allow the nursing home operators to seek bank finance with confidence.
He denied political fear caused the rejection of bonds.
People entering high-care beds were usually very ill and extending bonds to their care level would expose some to the "trauma" of having to sell their homes to raise the bonds.
"Our major concern is the welfare of the residents," he said. "We have got it right without stressing out the oldies."
By Matthew Franklin
Article from www.theaustralian.news.com.au
