By now you will have heard the expression ‘consumer directed care’, or CDC.
This is the new initiative by the government to bring choice and competition to home care by taking government money away from the providers of home care and allocating it to us, the consumer. (See our related story with Mitch Fifield, the Minister responsible for Ageing and Disabilities).
The goal of the government is to literally give us the money to spend as we wish to support us living in our own home as we age.
Money to help you at home
The money is designed to assist our actual living – in the home – and can be small amounts for weekly cleaning that we can’t manage ourselves, mowing the lawn and going to the shops. It includes physical and medical support such as assistance with showering, nursing and aids such as special chairs. Within reasonable limits you can even have the house remodelled to make it safer – installing ramps and grab rails in the showers.
When consumer directed care has been properly rolled out the money will literally be handed to each consumer after they have received an independent assessment of needs.
A ‘care plan’ will be developed and here is where things will change. You will be given the allocated money for that plan but you can decide if you will follow the plan or use the money differently.
Pay your daughter, not a stranger
An example would be the care plan calls for a physiotherapist to give a massage once a week. You may decide you would prefer to spend the money being taken to the shops every week. That would be your choice. Rather than paying an outside carer you may wish to appoint your daughter and pay her instead. That would be okay.
When does this all happen? Well the first steps are happening now. Care providers are still receiving the government funded ‘packages’ but they are supposed to consult with you on the plan and get your input and agreement on each component. If you don’t like the outcome you can say you want to move to another provider and that packet will travel with you.
Some operators are doing this well but others are being reported as presenting new contracts that they want their customers to sign, locking them in. This is not what the government wants so be aware.
The next step occurs in 18 months time, February 2017, where we the consumer can tell the government which provider we want our packet given to. That provided then will hold our package ‘in trust’.
In 30 months time, around mid 2018, the full consumer directed care plan rolls out. This is when the money will be allocated to us and we decide where and what spend it on.
Care providors will need to provide customer service
Home care providers have been getting ready for these changes for some time. Their biggest challenge is changing the culture with their administration staff. They have to move from a culture where they dictate how and where money is spent, ‘telling the customer’, to a culture of listening and tailoring a satisfying result. It’s called customer service.
While all this sounds great – and it is – just be aware that there is no free ride. We, the customer, will increasingly be asked to contribute to the cost of our home care, so the government can keep control of this cost as the baby boomers move into later age.
