Greens call for bigger rest home subsidy

The asset limit used to means test the rest home subsidy needs to be increased, says the Green Party.

People can apply for a residential care subsidy to help with the cost of care in a hospital or rest home.

It can be accessed by people who are 65 or over, or 50 to 64 when someone has no dependent children.

People aged 50 to 64 who are single with no children automatically meet the asset test.

But people who are 65 and over have to have assets below a set amount.

If they have a partner who remains living in the family house, the couple must not have more than $155,873 in other assets, excluding a car.

If both partners are in care, or a person over 65 no longer has a partner, the limit is $284,626.

There are also income limits, depending on the type of income.

Rest home care is usually about $1300 or $1400 a week.

Green Party spokesperson for seniors Lawrence Xu-Nan said the current systems left many people with anxiety over their future and their ability to enter care if they needed to.

"The Greens are calling on the government to increase the current cutoff for the rest home subsidy while enduring solutions are put in in place.

"At its core, aged care services should not be for profit and the government should step in to provide publicly owned services."

Financial coach Liz Koh said the threshold was far too low.

"The massive increase in property prices we have had over the last few years means the threshold is very out of date. This is especially so for people who no longer have a partner, as assets must be below $284,000.

"Although the thresholds are increased, the increase has not kept up with property price increases.

"If you have a partner your home can be excluded from the threshold, but the limit of $155,000 is still too low. This is a problem in particular where the partner not in a rest home is still relatively young. For example, a person can have a stroke in their late 60s, and be forced to live in a rest home, leaving their partner not much to live on for the rest of their retirement."

Ministry for Social Development spokesperson Harry Fenton said the subsidy was to provide financial assistance for people who required long-term residential care.

The asset thresholds were adjusted annually on July to reflect changes in the CPI.

"The amount of subsidy is the difference between the cost of contracted care and the amount a client is required to contribute for that care.

"How much a person is required to contribute to their care is determined by a financial means assessment which will consider their income, assets, and whether they are in receipt of New Zealand Superannuation or other benefit."

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