Post by bear on Sept 20, 2021 16:08:18 GMT 7
How to get government money for aged care
Steps to take when someone in your family can no longer care for themselves.
Aged care is a service you may need to access – and pay for – in the latter part of your retirement. This additional cost may come at a point when your finances are starting to decline. Understanding how to access government subsidies can help to give you more care for your money.
Is aged care expensive and is aged care affordable are two separate questions. Yes, it is expensive to provide, but in Australia we are lucky to have access to government subsidies to help with costs, and legislative rules to help match the contributions to a person’s level of affordability.
The federal government spends about $25 billion a year subsidising aged care services – across in-home and residential services.
The federal government spends about $25 billion a year subsidising aged care services – across in-home and residential services. These subsidies can make care more affordable than paying for care privately, but there are hoops you have to jump through to be approved, and you may have long waiting times before the government money becomes available.
The first step to unlock government subsidies is approval from an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or, in Victoria, Aged Care Assessment Services (ACAS).
1. Contact MyAgedCare: Start the process by contacting MyAgedCare on 1800 200 422 (or online at myagedcare.gov.au) to conduct a quick eligibility check. This check includes basic questions about health and how the person is coping. It is a good idea to have a family member (or friend) with the older person to help with the answers. This family member can also be nominated as the representative to act on the older person’s behalf with MyAgedCare throughout the rest of the process.
2. Referral to ACAT: If MyAgedCare determines the person does qualify for support, contact details and information are passed on to an ACAT team. If it is determined that the person’s needs are relatively simple, a different pathway may be taken with a referral to a Regional Assessment Service (RAS) to talk about other home services through the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
You should expect a call from the assessor (either to the older person or the person nominated as the representative) to arrange a time for a face-to-face assessment in the home. Through the COVID-19 period, these may be done via teleconferencing.
Depending on how busy the local ACAT team is, you may find several weeks’ delay between your first contact with MyAgedCare and the actual assessment appointment. The time frame may be quicker if the person is in hospital as the hospital can help with organising the process to get a quick assessment.
Assessors prefer to do the assessment in the person’s home so they can see what the home environment is like and how well the person is coping. This can help with the discussion around whether home care or residential care might be more appropriate.
3. Assessment results: A letter outlining the result of the assessment, and what subsidised care the person is eligible to apply for, will be sent after the assessment. This might provide approval for a home care package – at level 1, 2, 3 or 4 – and/or permanent residential care and/or respite residential care.
ACAT’s role is not to decide which option you should take, but rather to help assess whether care needs are at a level that warrants government subsidies and then help you with deciding what is realistic and suitable.
It is possible to get approval for more than one care option, which may give you flexibility to adapt as circumstances change. For example, if you want home care but find the wait is too long, you can switch and start looking at residential care, if approval for residential care was also given. If not, a new assessment would be required.
When to use your own resources
Be aware that subsidised services may not be enough to cover all of your needs, or may not be available where and when you want.
You might instead choose non-subsidised care or need to pay for additional private services to top up your care. This adds to your personal costs and will add to cash flow pressures, so planning ahead and determining how best to use your own financial resources will be needed to make these decisions or to have these opportunities.
Financial planning advice and good decision-making are the keys to getting the care you need at a price you can afford.
www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/how-to-get-government-money-for-aged-care-20210916-p58s5p
Steps to take when someone in your family can no longer care for themselves.
Aged care is a service you may need to access – and pay for – in the latter part of your retirement. This additional cost may come at a point when your finances are starting to decline. Understanding how to access government subsidies can help to give you more care for your money.
Is aged care expensive and is aged care affordable are two separate questions. Yes, it is expensive to provide, but in Australia we are lucky to have access to government subsidies to help with costs, and legislative rules to help match the contributions to a person’s level of affordability.
The federal government spends about $25 billion a year subsidising aged care services – across in-home and residential services.
The federal government spends about $25 billion a year subsidising aged care services – across in-home and residential services. These subsidies can make care more affordable than paying for care privately, but there are hoops you have to jump through to be approved, and you may have long waiting times before the government money becomes available.
The first step to unlock government subsidies is approval from an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or, in Victoria, Aged Care Assessment Services (ACAS).
1. Contact MyAgedCare: Start the process by contacting MyAgedCare on 1800 200 422 (or online at myagedcare.gov.au) to conduct a quick eligibility check. This check includes basic questions about health and how the person is coping. It is a good idea to have a family member (or friend) with the older person to help with the answers. This family member can also be nominated as the representative to act on the older person’s behalf with MyAgedCare throughout the rest of the process.
2. Referral to ACAT: If MyAgedCare determines the person does qualify for support, contact details and information are passed on to an ACAT team. If it is determined that the person’s needs are relatively simple, a different pathway may be taken with a referral to a Regional Assessment Service (RAS) to talk about other home services through the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
You should expect a call from the assessor (either to the older person or the person nominated as the representative) to arrange a time for a face-to-face assessment in the home. Through the COVID-19 period, these may be done via teleconferencing.
Depending on how busy the local ACAT team is, you may find several weeks’ delay between your first contact with MyAgedCare and the actual assessment appointment. The time frame may be quicker if the person is in hospital as the hospital can help with organising the process to get a quick assessment.
Assessors prefer to do the assessment in the person’s home so they can see what the home environment is like and how well the person is coping. This can help with the discussion around whether home care or residential care might be more appropriate.
3. Assessment results: A letter outlining the result of the assessment, and what subsidised care the person is eligible to apply for, will be sent after the assessment. This might provide approval for a home care package – at level 1, 2, 3 or 4 – and/or permanent residential care and/or respite residential care.
ACAT’s role is not to decide which option you should take, but rather to help assess whether care needs are at a level that warrants government subsidies and then help you with deciding what is realistic and suitable.
It is possible to get approval for more than one care option, which may give you flexibility to adapt as circumstances change. For example, if you want home care but find the wait is too long, you can switch and start looking at residential care, if approval for residential care was also given. If not, a new assessment would be required.
When to use your own resources
Be aware that subsidised services may not be enough to cover all of your needs, or may not be available where and when you want.
You might instead choose non-subsidised care or need to pay for additional private services to top up your care. This adds to your personal costs and will add to cash flow pressures, so planning ahead and determining how best to use your own financial resources will be needed to make these decisions or to have these opportunities.
Financial planning advice and good decision-making are the keys to getting the care you need at a price you can afford.
www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/how-to-get-government-money-for-aged-care-20210916-p58s5p