{
  "id": 1891659,
  "title": "Politicians slam 'cruel tool' used to determine at-home aged care funding",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/politicians-slam-cruel-tool-used-to-determine-at-home-aged-care",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-19T08:10:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-19/labor-stands-by-algorithm-aged-care-assessment-tool/107055252"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Politicians are criticizing the cruel algorithm used to determine funding for aged care recipients at home. The Four Corners investigation revealed the flaws in the tool, leading to mounting pressure from across the parliament for the government to ditch it. Health Minister Mark Butler defended the tool, claiming it leads to consistent outcomes, but opposition figures insist it is causing unnecessary suffering and potentially deaths among older Australians. The opposition has offered a path through parliament to fix the assessment process, but the government is resisting these calls. Labor introduced a bill to overhaul the algorithm, allowing human overrides, but the government has blocked its debate. The Greens and other parties are calling for the complete replacement of the assessment algorithm, arguing that the current system is beyond repair.",
  "summary": "Labor has resisted calls to change an aged care assessment tool at the centre of hundreds of complaints.",
  "key_points": [
    "Politicians slam cruel algorithm for aged care funding.",
    "Four Corners investigation reveals flaws in the tool.",
    "Opposition calls for replacement of the assessment system."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The government's resistance to changing the flawed algorithm used to determine at-home aged care funding means older Australians may continue to suffer or die unnecessarily, despite mounting pressure from across parliament.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}