Aged still paying for resthomes

More than 2000 elderly people are still being billed for resthome care, two months after the law changed to give them free care with assets of less than $150,000.

Work and Income staff have received 5383 applications for free care since the maximum asset level was raised from $15,000 on July 1.

National operations manager Liz Jones said 3206 applications were approved by August 25, leaving 2177 still being assessed.

The agency has agreed to backdate applications received before the end of July to July 1.

But the 1353 people who did not apply until August will get backdated for only 28 days from the date their applications are approved.

Meanwhile, everyone still in the queue is required to keep paying for care until their applications are processed. Ms Jones said the agency wrote to people in residential care inviting them to apply in June to avoid having to wait too long after July 1.

They could not apply earlier because of the 28-day limit on backdating payments.

But only 353 people applied in June, followed by 3507 in July.

Work and Income doubled staff numbers in its Whangarei office, which is handling asset assessments nationally, to about 60.

Ms Jones said they were working overtime to make up the backlog.

"With the widening of the income and asset test we are receiving a higher number of applications from people who have much more complicated financial affairs. This means we are taking longer to process the applications.

"Work and Income would encourage anyone who is anxious about the time being taken to process a residential care subsidy application to contact their case manager.

"We are nearly through the peak in applications and I am confident that it will be back to business as usual in the next few weeks."

Grey Power board member Violet McCowatt said she was getting many queries because official information about the new regime was too complicated.

"It needs the ministers to spend a bit of money and put it into the papers in words that everyone can understand."

Healthcare Providers of New Zealand chief executive Martin Taylor said "very, very few" resthome residents were refusing to pay their bills while they waited for their applications to be assessed.

* The $150,000 asset limit includes a house for single people or couples where both spouses are in care, forcing most elderly people to sell their houses before they can qualify for free care.

* However, where only one spouse is in care, the other one is allowed to keep the house, and the person in the resthome can get free care as long as the couple's other assets, excluding the house and a car, are worth less than $55,000.