There are a number of people in the Clarence Valley who are hesitant to apply for Home Care packages - often because the houshold budget maths just don't add up when it comes to what is now essentially privatised and very expensive assistance for older people in their own home.
Here is yet another example......
The Daily Examiner, 21 October 2019, p.3:
Clarence Community Transport CEO Warwick Foster said there were misconceptions surrounding how government funding works with Commonwealth Home Support, NDIS and Home Care Package clients.
“People don’t have the correct information about how the system actually works, and that’s understandable because it’s a confusing system,” he said.
Mr Foster said Clarence Community Transport was primarily a home support program, designed to provide subsidised transport to eligible clients.
“When it comes to clients who transition to a Home Care Package, regardless of the level, then they technically become ineligible to access Commonwealth Home Support Programme services,” he said.
“I think where the problem comes in is that there’s not enough education for the clients about what it means when they accept a Home Care Package.
“Unfortunately clients who had been using community transport to get to appointments go from paying one fee then having to pay another fee because we’re no longer able to provide subsidised transport. That’s why it’s such a shock.
“Three days a week we transport clients to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and to get them up and back for a subsidised client is $80, but that fee goes up to $780 once someone accesses a Home Care Package.
“We get notified by the government, who tell us when a client is in receipt of a Home Care Package, that they’re no longer eligible for CHSP services.”.....
“We’re a not-for-profit but that doesn’t mean we’re here to provide free transport.
“We are required under our contracts to recoup some costs of the transport service from our clients.”
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