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Tough exit fees for in-home care hurting the vulnerable

Announcement posted by KinCare 18 Apr 2017

National survey reveals that seven in ten people disagree with care providers setting exit fees
Sydney, Australia – 18 April 2017 – A national survey has shown that seven out of ten people likely to be affected by the Federal Government’s new reforms for in-home care packages for the elderly, disagree with care providers setting exit fees. 
 
Designed to give elderly people more choice and flexibility over the types of care and services they access in their own home, the Australia-wide survey found that 75 per cent of people affected by the Consumer Directed Care (CDC) scheme believe that exit fees should be banned altogether.
 
Commissioned by KinCare, one of the few in-home care providers that doesn’t charge exit fees, the findings send a clear message to those organisations asking up to $4000 to simply switch provider.
 
Brian Bissaker, CEO of KinCare, said, “The whole point of the Government’s Consumer Directed Care scheme is to deliver increased choice and flexibility, not lock-in thousands of older people into care arrangements they might not be satisfied with.” 
 
“The introduction of exit fees is unfair and it’s hitting our most vulnerable the hardest, at a time when they are supposed to have greater choice in selecting a care provider for the first time.”
 
Mr Bissaker said that KinCare is taking a stand against the restriction of customer choice by not charging joining, upgrade or exit fees for its in-home health and wellbeing services.
 
“At KinCare we understand that life and family circumstances can change at any time, and so do people’s service needs. As an industry, we have a huge opportunity to reshape the sector by improving the service offered to customers across Australia, so they can live richer, more independent lives.”
 
Josephine Pagano has experienced the shock of hidden fees when moving her elderly father across to KinCare’s new services this month – getting a letter from her previous provider advising of unannounced exit fees to leave the service.
 
“It was a blanket letter, saying there was a change in the contract, and that the provider was adding exit fees to their services,” said Pagano. “When I queried the legality of this, as we hadn’t signed a new contract agreement, they said that the exit fees only applied to the new packages.”
 
“Exit fees after the fact are unfair and misleading. For a vulnerable group such as the elderly, even a $500 exit fee is too high, especially when they are on limited budgets.”
 
“The new consumer choices for services are about being able to trial new providers and the services that suit you and your family,” said Pagano. “I don’t think there should be any exit fees, as you should be able to opt out if the services no longer meet your needs.”
 
The survey conducted by OmniPoll comes at a time when the Federal Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt is due to convene a round table on exit fees from Aged Care providers. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission plus other key figures are expected to provide advice to the government on the issue of fees and financial arrangements in aged care.
 
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Notes to Editor:
The Increasing Choice in Aged Care Reforms are explained in more detail on the KinCare website.
 
Survey conducted on the OmniPoll National Online Omnibus between March 30 to 3 April 2017 nationally among 1,228 respondents aged 18 years and over. Sample quotas were set for each state, city and regional area, along with sex and age. Results were post-weighted to Australian Bureau of Statistics data on age, highest level of schooling completed, sex and area.
 
About KinCare:
KinCare is a leading Australian provider of in-home aged care and disability support. For more than 25 years we have been providing in home support to older people, people with disability, those with health needs and their carers, through Government subsidised services and packages, and private services.
We are always investing in meeting the diverse needs of our customers. Last year KinCare’s 1,746 dedicated staff delivered 1.3 million hours of high-standard in home care, travelling over 5.3 million kilometres, to support over 10,400 customers to stay active in their communities.
KinCare provides services across Australia, in metropolitan and regional cities – with offices in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
 
For more information about KinCare visit www.kincare.com.au
You can find KinCare on Facebook and Twitter
 
Media Contacts:
Amanda Conroy & Lucy Walker
Espresso Communications
KinCare@espressocomms.com.au
+612 8016 2200
+61 422 472 883