Another boost to dementia-care funding is likely to be "trumpeted" by the Government in Thursday's Budget, New Zealand Aged Care Association chief executive Martin Taylor says.
Mr Taylor expected the Budget to boost dementia-care funding by $6 million to $7 million - the 5.8% increase the second instalment of a staggered funding boost.
Dementia bed numbers had been increasing because of the extra money available, he said.
It was a good example ofthe market working as it should, Mr Taylor said.
He believed the Government had targeted dementia to partly address huge profit shortfalls revealed in the 2010 Grant Thornton aged care report.
However, it was not tackling the wider issue of a lack of profitability in the sector.
Mr Taylor said the 1.49% increase for rest-home, hospital-level, and psycho-geriatric care would be the third year running the sector had a less-than-inflation increase.
The minor adjustment meant aged care providers would struggle to respond to growing pressure from workers for higher wages.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation aged care industrial adviser Rob Haultain said the National-led Government had "bitten the bullet" on dementia care where Labour had failed to act.
Health Minister Tony Ryall had addressed the shortage of dementia care beds, which had been due to them attracting less funding than hospital-level beds, Ms Haultain said.
While this was a positive, she attacked a lack of "accountability" over how targeted aged-care funding was spent.
Both Labour and National were guilty of handing over money to the sector without demanding proper auditing, she said.
In response, Mr Taylor said Ms Haultain's qualms were based on union-led ideological opposition to the private sector making money.
The sector was properly regulated, he said.
