Australia: Public spending on aged care up as sector expands

http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2016/07/28/public-spending-aged-care-sector-expands/#.V5vEXCsF36w.twitter

Government spending on aged care increased by 44 per cent between 2009–10 and 2014–15, while the number of places rose dramatically under the reforms, figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show.

Recurrent government spending on aged care reached $15.8 billion in 2014-15, of which two-thirds ($10.6 billion) was spent on residential care, $1.9 billion on home support and $1.3 billion on home care.

The number of places in residential aged care increased 7 per cent between 2010 and 2015, up from 180,000 beds to 192,000, while the number of home care places rose by 43 per cent as the government ramped up the allocation of packages under the Living Longer Living Better reforms.