More than 1.3 million Australians receive some form of Commonwealth subsidised aged care. Around 300 thousand people are in residential aged care (a nursing home) while more than 1 million people receive a subsidised aged care package in their own home setting.

A major change was made to the provision of Home Care Packages in February 2017. Consumer Directed Care (CDC) was introduced giving consumers greater flexibility with home care packages and more choice about the service provider that delivers the care to them. The transition to CDC has largely been successful. The consumer has been placed into the driver’s seat in making choices about the types of care and services that they wish to access.

But with this increase in consumer control, it is now even more important to have independent advice before deciding on which aged care provider to choose, to understand the quality of care services provided and the costs to you to receive those services.
Liz and Ron Carroll established Aged Care Connect in 2002 to help families navigate through the maze of local aged care services and providers and to understand and negotiate the aged care fees and charges.

McPhails asked Liz and Ron to follow up on their “In the Loop” article in March 2016 and to share their thoughts about the latest CDC changes and the effect that they are having on the aged care consumer.

Home Care Packages

A Home Care Package subsidised by the Commonwealth assists the person who wishes to remain in their own home, whether it’s the family home, an apartment, a retirement community, a granny flat, a boarding house or many other accommodation arrangements.

There are four levels of Home Care Package:

  • Level 1 – to support people with simple care needs.
  • Level 2 – to support people with low level care needs.
  • Level 3 – to support people with intermediate care needs.
  • Level 4 – to support people with high care needs.

While the Commonwealth’s “My Aged Care” service will assess, prioritise, and assign the home care packages – the major change from 27 February 2017 sees Commonwealth funding directly provided to the care recipient in the form of a budget, instead of a subsidy to the aged care provider.

The care recipient can now choose their preferred home care provider and can transfer to different providers at any time – the home care package is transportable nationally. Unfortunately, some providers charge an exit fee to consumers if they wish to use another service provider, the exit fee can be as high as $600.

Once the Home Care Package has been assigned, the consumer has 56 days in which to find a home care provider and sign a Home Care agreement. An extension of up to 28 days is possible where the consumer is finding it difficult to identify a provider.

Home Care Package consumers should be aware of the fee structure, especially any administration, case management or potential exit fees before accepting services for a provider.

There are many important items to consider when choosing a home care provider:

  • Suitability of service that they provide to your family needs?
  • Are they able to adapt to your specific care needs as they change?
  • How frequently will they be able to visit?
  • Do they have a reputation for providing quality services?
  • What are the costs and charges for services, including case management, administration, hourly rates, exit fees, etc.?
  • Will they negotiate how much you pay for the Basic Daily Fee?

Residential Care

We expect that the Commonwealth will roll out the Consumer Directed Care model for Residential Care area soon. This will further increase competition between the residential care providers.

We are currently seeing existing residential care providers trying to differentiate themselves by offering new types of services (medical clinics in the aged care home) and many new residential care providers offering non-Commonwealth subsidised accommodation alternatives.

We are also witnessing some residential care providers introducing new fee categories and higher fees for refundable accommodation deposits and extra service fees.

Our take home messages?

  • Planning and research is important to make sure that you are receiving quality aged care services, either home care or residential care, at a reasonable price.
  • Sharing the task with an experienced and independent advisor who can help you make a more informed decision.

Further Information?

If you would like to discuss your family requirements and the local aged care service providers contact the friendly Liz or Ron Carroll at:

Aged Care Connect pty ltd

Ph: 1300 884 850

Mb: 0400 888 381
info@agedcareconnect.com.au

www.agedcareconnect.com.au