Good news for people who receive home care
With the Federal Government set to introduce Consumer Directed Care (CDC) from February 27 next year, you will now be in control of the money the government gives to support you at home.
Even better, with consumers in charge, the organisations supplying you with services will now have to compete a lot harder to earn your dollar.
Many of the traditional services are adapting to the change by providing more technologically advanced service, while new providers are creating more choice and competition in prices.
In the long run, this is going to save you money and make it easier to you to ‘age in place’. Here’s why:
Existing home care providers recognise that most government funded care, such as cleaning and shopping, falls under home care services, and should cost less than physical nursing care.
To reflect this, they’ve create new service where you can opt to only chose the simpler tasks – and do it all online.
BaptistCare NSW is a great example. Their YouChoose service offers packages like Day Tripper for trips to the shops, Home and Garden Enthusiast for household maintenance, and Comfort and Support for health care, all selected on your mobile or tablet.
bettercaring.com.au is another offering. This Uber-style digital service matches carers and home service workers with clients across Sydney and Melbourne and lets you using computers, tablets or your mobile phone. You can literally scan through 700 carers they have and arrange the work and price directly with them. The cost? Usually between $25 to $40 an hour.
Another new service which balances care with cost is fivegoodfriends.com.au. A Community Manager helps you decide which service you want, chooses a local person to provide it and background the – all for a fixed rate of $35 an hour.
You can also monitor the time and work done online.
The final outcome? Home care services are set to become more affordable and offer more choice – that’s a win-win.
