Finding home
Older Australians might be missing out on home care funding : Q & A
By Elise Hartevelt
Unawareness among older Australians around how to access home care packages may lead to people passing up funding that would otherwise allow them to live at home longer , an aged care specialist has said .
The government began the rollout of an additional 40,000 home care packages ( HCP ) worth over $ 50,000 , which means that by June 2023 , over 275,000 packages will become available .
“ Many older Australians are unaware of their eligibility for HCPs ,” aged care specialist Simon Lockyer said .
“[ The system around HCP ] has become so opaque . It ’ s focused on tasks and hours but doesn ’ t acknowledge the people behind it .”
Aged Care Insite spoke with Lockyer about the barriers people might encounter when finding an HCP and what they can do to overcome them .
ACI : What barriers exist for people seeking an HCP ? What grounds would the government choose not to provide a package to an applicant ? SL : When people start looking for an HCP , it often starts to get really confusing for people . The first thing is ; you need to be 65 years or older or , if you ’ re on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island , 50 years or older . So there ’ s an age threshold there . Then the next thing is that people will be subject to an income-tested fee . Now , that ’ s done by Centrelink or Services Australia and is based on the income people earn . So , people who are full pensioners won ’ t be asked to contribute , or people who have an income of around $ 30,000 . If you aren ’ t over that , you can be asked to pay a fee of between $ 16 and $ 33 a day , depending on your income .
Some people at the upper scale have to pay up to $ 11,000 a year . So , someone might think , ‘ I ’ m only approved for a level one HCP , so I might as well arrange those services myself ’. But the thing about it is that it ’ s kept annually , you ’ ll never pay more than that , and it ’ s also kept for a lifetime . So in some cases , you are better off getting into the system because you could have six , eight or ten years of a good life ahead of you with the support of these services .
And as you start to reach those higher levels , like a level three HCP , where it ’ s $ 35,000 or a level four , where it ’ s $ 53,000 , even though you are contributing money to it , you ’ re still receiving a very good benefit to help your fund which they ’ ll ultimately keep . But this is where it normally gets confusing for people .
The government asks the care providers to collect that on their behalf , and then
What is the average time between someone starting to look for an HCP to the point that they start receiving it ? That ’ s a really interesting question because , quite often , it can be a year or up to 18 months before people emotionally start to accept they need care and help . They often have a lot of discussions with families . Sadly , someone will usually not start looking for an HCP until a crisis occurs . There might have been a fall , or maybe a partner has deceased or taken a turn for the worse . Then , suddenly , everything escalates , and they realise that they need care and help , and then they start the journey . And that journey can take time .
Once you first contact My Aged Care , it can take up to three weeks to receive an answer . Then , it can take a few more weeks for them to come into their homes to assess what needs they require . After that , a couple of weeks might pass before they get approved for an HCP . But it can take anywhere between six to twelve weeks before they start to receive it .
And so , for that reason , the number one piece of advice we give people is to start your conversations and planning earlier . Research done by Macquarie University found that for every hour of service received at home , the risk of someone entering residential aged care was reduced by 6 per cent . The most important things are the simple things like companionship , social engagement , and a bit of support and help around the house . And that makes so much sense because that ’ s just keeping people engaged with their communities and friends . When people have support and social engagement , it leads to much better outcomes .
Are you satisfied with the number of HCPs available at the moment ? Definitely . When we started Five Good Friends , we were just overly six years young , there were just under 100,000 HCPs on the market that the government was funding . By June 2023 , there may be 275,000 . So , the government is investing hard in at home care . It believes it ’ s the right strategy for people , and we do too . Of course , there ’ s often a point where someone requires residential aged care , but if we can keep people at home longer and safely and independently , we ’ ll get better outcomes . ■
24 agedcareinsite . com . au