How much should I charge?

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Hi folks

I have just been invited by an aged care facility to provide podiatry services to their residents.
Would like to know what are the fees I should charge residents without a care plan in Melbourne Australia?

 

This is a late response but since this topic has come up I might as well mention it. I am not sure if you are already aware in the past there has been issues with aged care facilities wrongly charging residents who needed allied health treatment (this includes Podiatry) with the following classification:

• has a high domain category in any Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) domain
• has a medium domain category in at least two ACFI domains
• has no ACFI classification yet
• is subject to specific grandparenting arrangements relating to 2008 and 2010 reforms, or
• is a high care residential respite care recipient.

These are the ones eligible for some allied health services at no charge under the Quality of Care Principles 2014: Schedule 1 Part 3 – Care and services – to be provided for all care recipients who need them – fees may apply. More details here:
https://agedcare.health.gov.au/site..._-_care_and_services_in_aged_care_homes_0.pdf

Item 3.11

Therapy services, such as, recreational, speech therapy, podiatry, occupational, and physiotherapy services.
a) Maintenance therapy delivered by health professionals, or care staff as directed by health professionals, designed to maintain care recipients’ levels of independence in activities of daily living;
b) More intensive therapy delivered by health professionals, or care staff as directed by health professionals, on a temporary basis that is designed to allow care recipients to reach a level of independence at which maintenance therapy will meet their needs.

Excludes intensive, long-term rehabilitation services required following, for example, serious illness or injury, surgery or trauma.

Additional guidance A provider cannot charge a resident exempt from additional fees for this Item for:
- a health practitioner1 to assess the resident’s therapy needs and to design an appropriate therapy program
- subsequent delivery of therapy services by the assessing health practitioner , or by staff under the direction of the assessing health practitioner1 in accordance with applicable law o includes transporting and/or escorting the resident to receive therapy services, where the provider chooses as its business model to deliver off-site any maintenance and/or short-term intensive therapy services that form part of the resident’s therapy program.

I think also this led to the Department of Health reminding the providers of their responsibilties in regards to Physiotherapy here: https://bit.ly/2WkeJIu

I assume then you are asking what fees you should charge residents without a care plan who are not classified under the categories above?

Additional info for noting:

In regards to Residents of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) eligible for Medicare item 731, it makes it clear that if residents are entitled to receive the allied health services at no additional cost to themselves through the RACF, those residents should not routinely be referred for allied health services under Medicare.
Further information about this here: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/m.../Chronic Disease Management - 6 June 2017.pdf