Post 1 November reforms, the AMA has renewed calls for investment into the aged care sector.
The AMA has rung the reform bell for aged care after releasing a revised position statement that calls for targeted Medicare rebate increases to make aged care work viable for GPs.
This has been prompted by the 1 November aged care reforms that focused on strengthening the financial sustainability of the sector.
A GP-led approach is being pushed as the pathway to effective aged care, with the AMA calling for greater investment into multidisciplinary care in the sector.
RACGP advocates have described the latest aged care investment as “modest” but not enough to match the needs of the sectors necessary development.
“There really, really is a severe, severe underfunding,” RACGP aged care specific interest group chair Dr Anthony Marinucci told The Medical Republic.
“I think that’s on the coattails of the way that medicine is practised in aged care is vastly different from a clinic.”
AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen also said the current funding models are ill-equipped to tackle the complexities of aged care.
“GPs play a pivotal role in aged care, but the current funding model doesn’t adequately recognise the additional time and complexity involved in caring for older people with multiple chronic conditions, while well intentioned reforms implemented in July 2024 are now proving to be a barrier to participation,” she said.
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“We need Medicare rebates that account for the time practitioners spend coordinating and connecting care, and properly value that time as well as time spent directly with patients.”
The updated position statement also spoke to the crucial role of geriatricians and allied health professionals in preventive care.
“We know that GP-led multidisciplinary care improves patient outcomes, it avoids hospitalisation, and preventative care absolutely improves patient outcomes,” Dr Marinucci told TMR.
“The only way we can do that is if we’re funded to do that and we’re funded to organise the preventative care and manage the team.
“The aged care industry has changed a lot post Royal Commission and the MBS hasn’t caught up.”
The AMA has proposed changes to the current MBS items that would better recognise the medical care that is provided outside of patient consultations.
“We all know that age care requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work in addition to the patient facing time, and that’s not really currently recognised in the system,” AMA vice president Associate Professor Julian Rait told TMR.
“The current funding model needs to change so the Medicare rebates take account of the time the practitioners spend coordinating and connecting care, and not just the time that they spend directly with patients, although that probably does need to be further supported too.”
