Since 2006 more than 50 finance companies have collapsed or defaulted stripping thousands of Kiwis on the verge of retirement of their savings. A concern for the Government is that these New Zealanders will not be able to pay for their aged care.
Each district health board pays for its elderly to live in residential care such as a rest home if they require it. In the Waikato, about one third of residents pay for the care themselves, one third are subsidised and the other third are paid for by the DHB and patients' superannuation.
In Hamilton, the daily cost of age-related residential care is: rest home, $105; dementia care, $142; residential hospital, $179; psychogeriatric, $199.
This costs the region's health board $64 million a year. The board also spent $12.29 million on in-patient assessment, transition and rehabilitation services, $16.8 million on home and community support services and $1.57 million on respite care.
Of the total $102 million, $18.3 million worth of services were provided by Health Waikato, and the balance was provided by 65 non-government organisations.
The spending was 10.3 per cent of the total Waikato DHB . The over-65 population is projected to increase by more than 16,500 people, from 52,000 people .$102 million was spent annually in the Waikato region on aged care now to almost 69,000 people in 2021.
The over-85 population would increase by more than 2000 during the same time.l
AGED CARE COST
* Older people's services cost Waikato DHB $102 million annually
* $64 million of this covers rest homes, hospitals, and dementia facilities.
* Over-65s predicted to be one in five in 10 to 20 years.
The dilemma we as a country now face is that there is not enough money available to provide services on a continual basis for this vulnerable sector of society. At Supercare4u.com we find that being able to offer non-medical emergency transportation at an affordable price compared to traditional ambulances is a positive step for future budgets. Although we are just a small boat in the ocean!
