Rest home bills questioned
Awoman paid a refund after an aged-care facility unlawfully charged for her husband’s “premium” room believes other Kiwis are owed thousands of dollars.
Consumer NZ has fielded similar complaints about the extra charges and is concerned costly premium rooms are being misrepresented.
And the Commission for Financial Capability will investigate after a surge in the number of elderly surprised by financial fish-hooks relating to the move from a retirement village unit to rest-home care.
So-called “premium” rest-home and aged-care rooms can cost from $50 to more than $400 a week for extras such as an en suite or garden access.
If a facility has no standard rooms available, it can require a new resident to pay for a premium room only if occupancy is 90 per cent or higher, and it has found a provider within 10km with a standard room available.
Those rules still cover facilities that only have premium rooms. The process must be clearly detailed in the resident’s admission agreement.
Ruth Schumann is urging all residents or their families to check their paperwork after she received a refund for her husband Dennis’ stay at Northbridge, Northcote.
Schumann believes it’s likely people in other facilities are being wrongly charged.
Many would be unaware of their rights, or in no position to complain, she said.
Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said the organisation had concerns about premium rooms being misrepresented, including the false impression they provide a higher level of care. The charges were a growing revenue stream for homes.
“Among the problems raised with us is that rest homes may promote premium rooms as the best or only option available, without telling consumers about the conditions regarding charging for these rooms.”
A growing number of villages have rest-home care on site, with many using this “continuum of care” in marketing.
There can be confusion when a decline in health causes village residents to move into a rest home, which operates under separate regulatory and funding models. New charges can run down estates.
Most villages don’t pay out on a unit until after it has been leased to someone new, for example, which can take months.
Weekly fees, which cover rates, maintenance and insurance, can also be charged after a person has left a retirement village unit, until it has been leased again.