Minister aims to stop million surplus at care homes

Minister Plans to Set a Limit on Million-Dollar Surpluses at Care Homes

Politics (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik)

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Minister to Establish a Cap on Million-Dollar Surpluses at Care Homes

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Cash revealed yesterday how there is a lot of money to be made at the country's care homes.

A new agreement between the government, the Social Democrats, and the Conservatives will make it harder to exploit the country's shelters and care homes to make millions.

Cash could otherwise have revealed yesterday how it is possible to make million-dollar surpluses by helping the country's most vulnerable by budgeting for more expenses than one actually has.

Read also: After Cash Exposure: New Agreement to Limit 'Greedy Individuals' who Exploit the Country's Care Homes (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/efter-kontant-afsloeringer-ny-aftale-vil-spaende-ben-brodne-kar-der-udnytter-landets)

Something, the agreement will put a stop to by setting a limit on the fees that care homes can charge for housing residents.

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Cash: Absalon's Secret

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Watch the program now on DRTV (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/kontant_7132) or on DR1 Thursday at 21.25

- We can see that the fees have only gone one way, and they are going up, says Social and Housing Minister Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (S).

She explains that Cash's exposure of how the owner of care home Absalon has made million-dollar surpluses for several years has put a thick line under the need to tighten up.

- That is exactly the background for these fee caps and the increased demands on auditors, says Sophie Hæstorp Andersen.

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Fee Cap will not Affect Absalon

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The new fee cap means that shelters and care homes will in the future be subject to a fee cap of 2,322 DKK per day.

The cap would therefore not have had an immediate effect in Absalon's case, where it was possible to make a million-dollar surplus, even though the fee per resident was only 1,354 DKK.

Absalon is significantly below the fee cap, isn't it?

- One must always be able to account for where the money goes. We are not changing that with this agreement.

- But with this agreement we will be imposing more demands on auditors. For Cash's coverage shows that it is not okay, how one compiles one's fees, says the minister.

Read also: Kenn Lived in a Care Home that Year after Year Made Million-Dollar Surpluses: 'It's Out of Proportion' (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/penge/kontant/kenn-boede-paa-forsorgshjem-der-aar-efter-aar-lavede-millionoverskud-det-er)

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Professor is Satisfied

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Should Absalon pay the money back?

- I cannot go into the specific case, but what I have seen suggests that one should try to get the money back.

Professor of Financial Management at Aalborg University Per Nikolaj Bukh explains that "the fee cap itself does not solve the problem," but together with the other initiatives in the agreement, the professor is satisfied.

- I think it is a really good agreement. One can go a long way with this, says Per Nikolaj Bukh.

Cash has submitted the criticism from the program 'Absalon's Secret' in writing to the owner of Absalon, who has not responded to DR's inquiries.

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