Catholic Health Australia (CHA) is sounding the alarm on the sustainability of vital hospital and aged care services in remote and rural parts of the country.
While millions of Australians outside major cities struggle with limited healthcare options, CHA insists that immediate reforms are necessary to ensure they receive the same standard of care as their urban counterparts.
“Due to smaller patient volumes and higher costs, regional and remote hospital and aged care services are under the most severe pressures, including financial and workforce,” said CHA CEO Jason Kara.
“We want to ensure the one in three Australians who live outside a capital city have the same choice, access and quality of care as everyone else.”
In its latest budget submissions, CHA backs a proposal to increase default benefits—the minimum amount insurers must cover—for non-metropolitan hospitals. The organisation also advocates for a default benefit for hospital-in-the-home services, highlighting how Australians could receive end-of-life care or dialysis without enduring extensive travel.
“Default benefits are particularly important in regional areas where services are limited. Increasing them would help put services on a sustainable footing,” Kara explained.
“Right now many regional and rural patients are travelling long distances for care they could have in the comfort of their homes if only their insurers funded it. A default benefit for hospital-in-the-home care would shift decision making away from insurers and empower patients and their doctors to decide where they receive their care.”
Beyond hospital care, CHA is turning attention to the availability of aged care in remote regions. Declining financial viability has hindered expansion, upgrades, and refurbishments needed to meet growing demand. According to CHA, the government must invest in capital funding to preserve and improve aged care services.
“After years of losses, services simply don’t have the money to expand, upgrade, or refurbish to meet growing demand. The government must boost investment in capital to fund crucial infrastructure upgrades and builds, such as staff accommodation, to ensure viability of services in regional, rural and remote areas.”
Particularly at risk are mining towns such as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie, which face low geographic weightings for funding under the Modified Monash Model. CHA insists the outdated classification does not account for the unique economic conditions in these communities, putting local aged care services on the brink.
“The current funding model does not account for the unique economic conditions in regional mining towns,” Kara said. “Providers in these areas are struggling with extreme cost pressures, and without targeted support, aged care services may be forced to close, leaving older residents without local care options.”
Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.
