Seniors Housing & Healthcare Trends

MELBOURNE: Demand for assisted-living flats has moderated with more housing options and care services brought close to seniors, Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How said in Parliament on Sept 9.

He added that these flats, known as community care apartments (CCAs), are one of several options that marry housing and aged-care services, but that this is not the solution for every senior.

He was responding to questions from Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) and Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang) on the reduced demand for CCAs.

The Housing Board has launched five CCA projects in the past five years, of which only the first two in Bukit Batok and Queenstown were oversubscribed, attracting more applicants than the number of units available for sale.

Three newer projects in Bedok, Geylang and Sengkang were undersubscribed.

Tan said that about seven in 10 units across the five projects were taken up by the end of each flat selection exercise, and that the take-up rate for the most recent Sengkang project was about 50 per cent.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in May that the launch of CCAs will be slowed down given the reduced demand. Previously, there were plans to launch up to 30 CCAs across Singapore by 2030. No revised target has been revealed.

Residents have to subscribe to a basic service package which covers a range of care and support services offered by CCA staff.

Checks showed that service prices have increased significantly in less than five years, affecting demand.

The authorities announced in July that the monthly fee for the service package would be lowered.

Tan said the CCA option “is a new product and something we are testing to see whether the seniors find it useful… (but is) not the solution for every senior”.

“Most important is that options are available at different price points and support the different needs of different groups of seniors in our community,” he added.

Noting seniors’ preference to age in place, Tan highlighted that aged-care services have been brought closer to seniors through expanding the Active Ageing Centre network, and offering an enhanced home personal care service, which supports frail seniors through round-the-clock technology-enabled monitoring for falls and incidents.

The Age Well Neighbourhood initiative will also be expanded to more areas with a higher density of seniors, so they can access enhanced care services and senior-friendly infrastructure.

Tan said there are housing grants and market discounts to keep CCAs affordable for seniors.

Yip also asked if the Government will consider allowing seniors to tap their MediSave or CPF savings to pay for CCA service fees, to enhance the take-up rate.

Tan responded that the policy objective of MediSave is to ensure seniors have adequate savings to afford basic medical care as they age, and that any use of MediSave for other purposes must be considered carefully.

Nevertheless, he said, the affordability of long-term care and assisted-living support is reviewed on a regular basis.

Questions were also raised about a luxury eldercare facility in Parry Avenue – another housing option for seniors to age in place.

The $260 million private project, Perennial Living, launched the first phase of its operations on Aug 18, which included 200 assisted-living apartments.

With monthly rates starting at $8,000, Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC) said the project is beyond the reach of most middle-income seniors, and asked what policy objective this project aims to achieve.

He also asked if the operator is required to publish the all-in monthly cost, and whether the Government will consider affordability conditions before releasing sites for future projects, or requiring the operator to set aside a proportion of the units and make them accessible for middle-income residents.

Referring to the development as a pilot project, Tan said the Government has to “look at the outcomes of that project before we decide how we proceed”.

He reiterated that not every assisted-living model can serve every senior, and “what is important is that we want to have affordable options for most seniors”, with the Parry Avenue project being “more suitable for a niche segment of the community”.