Thinking about self-managing your Home Care Package?
Whether you self-manage your package or choose a fully managed plan, you’ll still have choice and control over your support workers, your schedule, your spending, and your care.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of self-managing a Home Care Package:
What does ‘self-managing’ a Home Care Package mean?
When you self-manage your Home Care Package, you take greater responsibility for:
- Deciding how your Home Care Package funding is spent.
- Choosing and appointing care service providers
- Scheduling and booking service providers and carers.
- Physically paying for the services you receive.
- Making sure the funds you spend match your care plan and budget.
When self-managing, do you still need to engage a Home Care Package Provider?
Yes.
When you self-manage your Home Care Package, you are legally required to engage a Home Care Package Provider to receive and hold onto your funds until you use them to purchase approved supports and services.
You also need to coordinate with them to ensure your care and spending are compliant with your package, to approve carers, access your funds and track spending.
Many providers oversee self-managed Home Care Packages for a small fee.
As a self-managed Home Care Package recipient, you can decide how involved your chosen provider will be in the management of your care services.
Who can self-manage a Home Care Package?
Anyone with a Home Care Package can choose to self-manage, or have a carer, family member or other representative assist.
What are the Advantages of a Self-managed Package?
Choice:
The biggest advantage of self-management is that you have full choice and control over all your spending. You’ll always have full transparency about exactly what your options are, and about every choice you make regarding your care.
Cost:
When you self-manage you generally pay a lower fee to your Home Care Package Provider than you would when receiving full management services.
What are the Disadvantages of a Self-managed Package?
Responsibility for rostering:
Home Care Package Providers use a pool of carers and service providers to deliver services to their clients. When you self-manage, you don’t always have a pool of carers to draw from – unless you organise them yourself. If your carer cancels at the last minute, is sick or cannot deliver a rostered service, it’s up to you to find an alternate carer.
Time:
Managing every detail of your care takes more time and energy, especially from an administrative perspective. You are responsible for:
- finding, coordinating, rostering, and paying for services
- managing your budget
- learning to use new technology.
- solving any issues you have with carers.
- making sure your care plan is always up to date.
You could spend anywhere between 2-10 hours per week coordinating services and completing administrative tasks.
Complexity:
When you self-manage a Home Care Package it can be challenging to find appropriately qualified carers and to maintain your care plan without the customised advice of a Home Care Package Provider. Lack of expertise may result in missing out on essential services, struggling with processes, or accidentally overspending your budget.
Will all Home Care Package Providers let you self-manage?
Many Home Care Package Providers will administer self-managed Home Care Packages – but not all of them. So how can you find one that does?
This is where Aged Care Decisions can help.
Our 100% FREE home care matching service helps tens of thousands of Australian families find Home Care Package Providers that suit their needs.
Our custom-built software together with our Placement Specialists can match your location, budget, care needs and personal preferences with available providers that suit your specific needs.
Tips for successfully self-managing a Home Care Package
Be organised:
You will need to be meticulously organised to successfully coordinate and track service providers and manage bookings, cancellations, and quality of care received.
You will also need to organise a way to directly pay for the services you receive, via debit card, direct debit, or another payment method.
Research:
Before engaging carers, you need to understand what your package can pay for and what your care plan states that you need.
You should also be aware of your rights under the Aged Care Act.
Set clear boundaries with your Home Care Package Provider:
In your care agreement with a Home Care Package Provider, it should clearly state what their obligations are and what your obligations are.
Some of these obligations may be:
- Who chooses care workers, and who manages rosters?
- Who makes purchases and arranges payment to carers?
- Who monitors expenses and tracks spend against your budget?
- Who makes sure your funding is spent correctly and adheres to home care legislation?
Keep good records:
You will need to manage expenses and keep a running record of all services you receive and pay for. If there are disputes or payment problems, you will need invoices, receipts, and detailed payment information on hand to resolve them.
Can you switch to self-management if you already have a Home Care Package Provider?
Yes.
You can ask your current provider if they will partner with you as you self-manage your Home Care Package. Some providers may insist that you choose service providers they employ. Every provider will be different.
You can also switch to a new Home Care Package Provider that better suits your needs.
Aged Care Decisions’ 100% FREE matching service can assist you to find and compare Home Care Package Providers in your area, that offer self-management options.
Read more:
Three steps to switching home care providers – at no cost (agedcaredecisions.com.au)
Connect with Aged Care Decisions here to get started.
