Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Australia has welcomed the additional funding announced in the Aged Care updates which came into effect on November 1.
The new investments, including the extra funds available in the Support at Home Program, will provide a more generous funding package, including greater access to assistive technology, home modifications, and essential supports for older people living with MND and their carers.
The additional funding will also be welcome news to charity groups in Gunnedah which have worked hard to raise funds to support research into the disease that affect a person’s ability to move, swallow, talk and breathe. But MND Australia said more needs to be done to support older Australians diagnosed with the disease.
According to MND Australia, under the NDIS, a person living with MND can access an average of $302,000 in annual support but in contrast, those diagnosed after 65 are limited to a maximum of $108,000 under the new Support at Home Program, leaving a funding gap of nearly $200,000 every year.
“This is an invisible crisis hiding in plain sight,” CEO of MND Australia, Clare Sullivan, said.
Ms Sullivan said an unfair, two-tiered system of inequity exists for people living with MND who get diagnosed after aged 65.
“For people living with MND, every day matters,” Ms Sullivan said. “They cannot afford to wait weeks or months for equipment, care, or support. Age should never determine access to dignity.”
Earlier this year in Gunnedah, more than 60 volunteers helped raise money for MND research through a community tree planting project on Wandobah Reserve.
The fundraising event was organised by Gunnedah Urban Landcare Group (GULG) and Rotary Club of Gunnedah West, to support Australian Rotary Health to fund a three-year PhD Scholarship to research Motor Neurone Disease.
Gunnedah also regularly supports fundraising efforts for MND through local events such as the Big Freeze and annual golf day.
MND Australia is urging the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon. Mark Butler, to act on the Senate Committee’s recommendations and establish a fast-track pathway within Aged Care for Australians diagnosed with MND after 65.
