EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
AGED CARE ACT 1997 SECTION 44-14
DETERMINATION UNDER SECTION 44-14
(ACA Ch. 3 No. 14/2008)
ENTERAL FEEDING SUPPLEMENT
Paragraph 44-14(6)(a) of the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) provides that the Minister may determine in writing the amount of the enteral feeding supplement. Paragraph 44-14(6)(b) of the Act provides that the Minister may determine a method for working out the amount of enteral feeding supplement for a particular day.
The enteral feeding supplement is a daily supplement for care recipients receiving a complete food formula by means of a nasogastric, gastronomy or jejeunostomy tube. This determination sets the daily rates for bolus and non bolus feeding to be paid.
This determination sets the enteral feeding rates at $14.87 (for bolus) and $16.66 (for non-bolus) with effect from 1 July 2008 and revokes Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 11/2007.
The determination also outlines a method for calculating the amount of enteral feeding supplement to be paid where the actual cost to the approved provider of administering enteral feeding to the care recipient is equal to, or more than, 125 per cent of the daily rate.
Consultation
Many aged care supplement rates are indexed on 1 July each year. The index for the enteral feeding supplement is based on the Consumer Price Index.
As the indexation of this supplement uses a well-established formula for indexation, no specific consultation with industry was undertaken with respect to this instrument.