Home care living can truly be an amazing and rewarding experience for those receiving it as well as the peace of mind it creates for their family.
However, there are so many home care package providers out there that it can create all sorts of misinformation that further adds to the confusion.
As we are a Victorian-based home care provider, we thought it might be somewhat helpful to write a blog about some of the questions and queries that have arisen from potential clients and to confirm what is fact and what is fiction.
Everyone is charged the same basic daily fee
Fiction.
Providers can choose whether or not they charge a basic daily fee. If your preferred provider does charge one, be sure to negotiate this with them before you sign your agreement as some might be willing to waive this fee.
Most of your home care package goes towards fees
Fiction.
This will always depend on the provider you choose. Some fees will equal more than 40% of your home care package. However, this isn’t always the case. Try and find a provider that charges approximately 25-30%.
There are only two levels of care
Fiction. It’s something that we get asked a lot when speaking to prospective clients and they’re always pleasantly surprised to discover that there are indeed four levels (1-4) of care available to them.
Once you’ve been assigned your home care package, you have it for life
Absolutely this is a fact.
Not-for-profit providers are better value
This is fiction. Most non-for-profit home care package providers charge the same as for-profit providers.
If you change providers, you’ll lose all of your unspent funds
Again, this is fiction.
You won’t lose any unspent funds if you want to change the provider you’re with. The funds are yours and will never be taken away from you. When you sign with your new home care provider, any unspent funds will go with you.
You’re stuck with the provider you choose
Fiction.
You’re able to change your home care provider at any time. If the provider you have chosen isn’t meeting your needs or you’re not getting the care you need, you’re able to transfer at any time.
Once you’ve been assessed, that’s it. You can’t be assessed
Fiction. We can’t stress this one enough.
We get asked this question all the time as a Victorian home care service provider. If your needs change over time and you don’t think your current level of home care is enough, you can be assessed again. Your current provider can help you apply for this reassessment. However, you must be able to prove that your current level of support isn’t enough for you.
There are wait times of 3 years to get approved
This is absolutely fiction. However, not too long ago some people were indeed waiting 3 years before they received their home care package which was typically the level four packages.
Now, it’s more than likely you’ll receive your package within 6 months.
It might be a lower level of care than the one you were approved for, but the idea is that you can at least get some level of care and support whilst you wait for your higher-level home care package.
If you would like to find out more about how our Bayswater aged care home care packages can support you, please click here to leave an enquiry or call us on (03) 8720 1338.