Discriminatory transport costs for home care package recipients in rural areas - a barrier to health and wellbeing

For people living in rural communities receiving a Home Care Package (HCP), high transport costs can limit their access to essential health services creating serious health risks.

Tasmanian HCP recipient retiree Helen Walne, 85, who lives with emphysema/COPD was forced to suspend essential therapies and health services due to high transport costs, leading to two emergency hospital admissions which were life-threatening.

The fees for her community transport service are charged by kilometres travelled, 600% higher than the rate charged to older people on other aged care programs.

A session of professionally-supervised hydrotherapy costs Helen $40 while the transport for that session is $120. Her HCP funding is insufficient to cover transport to therapy sessions and in-home services.

Helen’s experience is not confined to people in Tasmania, according to aged care advocates. 

As a member of the Older Persons Advocacy Network’s (OPAN) National Older Persons Reference Group, Helen appeared at a recent Senate Committee Inquiry into the Aged Care Bill 2024 to speak about the urgency of a review of the fee structure of transport for HCP recipients living in rural areas nation-wide.

Helen spoke of the discriminatory impact of transport charges to HCP recipients on the health of residents in rural communities.  As a participant in the Australian Lung Foundation’s educational activities, she is keenly aware of the consequences of failure to undertake therapies. Her own deterioration in health is a prime example.

As part of the Lung Foundation of Australia education sessions the process of this deterioration is illustrated by the following chart. Isolation is a component which also has devastating results.

Helen has made approaches to Community Transport Tasmania and the Australian Community Transport Association to seek support for equitable transport access across Australia.

“Older people who live in rural or remote areas must have access to the same aged care services as their counterparts in metropolitan areas,”  OPAN CEO Craig Gear said.

“A loading or some other equitable arrangement is required to ensure older people living in rural or remote areas who receive Home Care Packages have equitable access to medical appointments and preventative therapies.

Read OPAN’s Position Statement on Transport here https://opan.org.au/information/publications-and-reports/position-statements