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Elderly struggle to pay their way  

By Brad Crouch, the Advertiser
November 9, 2003

The cost of living could be life itself for some older South Australians this summer. Hemmed in by a tide of rising costs on all sides, older people are skipping meals, medicine and heating just to pay basic bills needed to stay in their own homes as Brad Crouch reports.

Welfare agencies fear a wave of illness, malnutrition and even deaths this summer as the elderly cut back on such essentials as air-conditioning.

Social isolation also is on the rise as many people shy away from spending money on transport, telephones or socialising.

Prices outstripping pension rises or investment income are leaving people under siege as they grapple with:

ELECTRICITY bills, up 60 per cent since 1995, including a rise of 24 per cent this year.

WATER, up 40 per cent since 1998.

GAS, up a predicted 20 per cent next year thanks to deregulation on top of a 5.6 per cent rise this year.

BULK BILLING, a 21 per cent drop in rates in the past three years, although many GPs still bulk-bill pensioners separately to other patients.

CHARGES tied to household valuations which have doubled in the past decade, including water, sewerage, Emergency Services Levy and insurance.

Other price rises taking their toll include council rates, petrol, car registration and driver's licences, water levies, health insurance and the impact of the GST on services.

Some rebates are available but these have not risen in years – the rebate for electricity has not changed since 1990 – and others are minor, such as the $1.80 per quarter rebate on gas.

The State Government has ruled out raising rebates as a way to ease pressure.

While essential services rise in double digits and concessions remain frozen, this year's two pension rises boosted the single age pension by 5.4 per cent, or $23.40, to $452.80 per fortnight.

Council on the Ageing executive director Ian Yates said people on fixed incomes could do little about rising bills except cut spending.

About 80 per cent of the state's 211,000 people aged over 65 are on a pension.

"No one thing is the killer blow, it is the combination of a host of things creeping up in price," Mr Yates said.

"The two things we get constant calls and mail about are rising house valuations and the cost of electricity."

More than 3000 households now are on special payment plans after trouble paying their electricity bills.

A COTA survey found some people are dealing with rising electricity prices by not turning on their heaters or air-conditioners even during extreme weather.

The fear now is frail, old people will succumb to heat stroke if summer is a scorcher. A heatwave in France earlier this year claimed 15,000 lives, many of them older people who suffered heat exhaustion.

"Older people die in extreme weather conditions anyway, such as a hot summer – the chances now are this will happen more often if people are afraid to turn their air-conditioners on because of the cost," Mr Yates said.

"We also are getting anecdotal stories of people suffering malnutrition because one of the few areas they can cut back is their food bill."

A University of Adelaide study two years ago found more than one-in-three older people at risk of malnutrition.

The survey of 250 people aged 70 to 90 years in the affluent eastern suburbs found 38 per cent at risk of malnutrition and 5 per cent were malnourished.

to pay their way

Endocrinology lecturer Dr Ian Chapman and PhD student Caroline MacIntosh found this group had worse outcomes when they fell ill.

"It is surprisingly common, but most people are unaware a substantial group of older people are at risk of being malnourished," Dr Chapman said.

"A large number of people just don't eat enough – factors such as dementia, depression or poverty can have an effect and they also don't eat as much if they are alone."

Some older people face selling their homes as soaring valuations leave them asset rich but income poor.

COTA wants bigger increases in pensions to ease the situation, as well as a comprehensive review of the concession system. It also wants a whole-of-government approach because the crisis besetting older people runs across half-a-dozen portfolios.

This was apparent when the Sunday Mail sought a State Government response about how older people could cope and was redirected from minister to minister.

Premier Mike Rann's office eventually directed responsibility to Treasurer Kevin Foley.

He declined to comment directly, instead releasing a statement saying the government provides $90 million in concessions in nearly 30 areas to assist pensioners, while noting pensions were a matter for the Federal Government.

Welfare agencies say campaigns urging people to "switch off" to conserve power supplies added to the tendency by older people to forego heating or cooling.

While people cut back on food and power, evidence is appearing they are not taking their medicine because they cannot afford it.

South Australian Council for Social Service executive director Pam Simmons said people were skipping meals to pay power bills.

"We are hearing stories of people not filling their prescriptions and, through winter, they were fearful of turning on the heat – they just put on more clothes and went to bed to stay warm," she said.

"If they are struggling to pay their bills, they may cut back on air-conditioning and that has the potential for heat exhaustion.

Ms Simmons noted all low-income people, not just the elderly, faced stress from rising prices.

Agencies reporting to SACOSS say growing numbers of people have cut back from three meals to two each day for fear they will lose their homes if they can't pay their bills.

The SA Ambulance Service routinely sees a rise in older people suffering heat problems in summer and is expecting an extra 10 to 12 calls a day this summer on its usual Adelaide workload of more than 600 jobs daily.

Spokesman Lee Francis said older people have a different sensory perception of temperature due to circulation and the ageing process.

This could leave them susceptible to extreme temperatures, making heating or cooling vital.

"We see people who tend to economise on things who have heat-related problems in summer," he said.

"As people get older they don't feel the heat and the cold in the same way as younger people."

Despite the struggle to keep up with the bills, Essential Services Commissioner Lew Owens said prospects were not good for any fall in the price of electricity or gas.

"People need to be careful with their consumption but the elderly need to take care with their health," he said.


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