Your Home Care Package is ready. What now?
by KinCare — 7 November 2018
You’ve just received the letter you’ve been waiting for. That’s right – the letter to tell you that your Home Care Package has been assigned and you can now select a provider.
It’s possible you’ve been waiting for a long time to receive this news, so you may be feeling very relieved right now.
You might also be a little daunted by what to do next – which is where KinCare can help.
To help you access the in-home care services you need as quickly as possible, we’ve put together a list of commonly asked questions about a Home Care Package letter of assignment.
Why did I get it?
This letter will have been sent to you from My Aged Care to confirm that your Home Care Package has been assigned and funding is now available to you.
Sometimes this letter is confused with the Package Approval letter. However, these letters are sent for two entirely different reasons.
- The Package Approval letter is sent first and lets you know the outcome of your assessment with the Aged Care Assessment Team. It tells you when you have been approved for a Home Care Package, the level you have been approved for and that you have been placed in a national queue for your funding to be assigned to you.
- The Home Care Package Assigned letter is the next you’ll receive. It lets you know that you’ve reached the top of the queue and the funding for your Home Care Package has now been allocated. You can now use your funding to get the services you need, which is great news for you.
Why is it important?
The letter stating that your Package has been assigned includes the package level you’ve been allocated and a referral code to give to KinCare.
Your letter includes the date by which you need to accept the package, select KinCare as your chosen provider if you haven’t already, enter into a home care agreement with us and start receiving your services. You have up to 56 days to appoint a provider and start using your funding.
Your Home Care Agreement is a legal document that outlines your rights and responsibilities, how to work with your provider, what choices you have, how much you’ll need to contribute to the cost of your care and how much the services will cost. This agreement will be discussed and agreed between you and KinCare.
If you need a bit more time to finalise your Home Care Agreement with us, you can ask My Aged Care for a 28-day extension, or ask KinCare can do that on your behalf.
It’s important to know that if you don’t start using your Home Care Package within the 56-days or before the 28-day extension finishes, your funding package will expire, and you’ll go back onto the national waitlist.
What happens next?
At the bottom of the front page of your Home Care Package Assigned letter is your unique referral code.
When you quote this referral code to KinCare, it allows us to log in to the My Aged Care website to review your client record. This record includes important information about your assessment, support plan and the funding available to you. Having this information on hand gives our team the best chance to understand your needs and identify how best to tailor our services for you.
With your referral code handy, give KinCare a call on 1300 702 319 to make a time to meet with one of our friendly Customer Care Managers. They’ll visit you at home and put together a care plan that’s tailored to suit your individual needs.
Will the funding cover all the services I need?
The basic daily fee is set by the government at a percentage of the single basic age pension. Since 1 July 2021, all new KinCare Home Care Package customers haven’t been required to pay KinCare the Basic Care Fee. We will work with you to balance your package budget so that you don’t need to contribute this amount.
Some people may be asked to pay an income-tested fee towards the cost of care. This fee is different for everyone and is based on your individual income. These fees cannot be discounted and are decided by the Department of Human Services. You may wish to have an income test now, so you know whether you may need to pay this fee.
We can support you through this process and help with the necessary paperwork.
And while it may come as a shock to discover you need to contribute, you should feel reassured that whatever the amount, it will be based on what you can afford.
What do I do if my package expires?
If your package does expire, you can call My Aged Care or KinCare to let us know if you still want a Home Care Package, and you’ll be placed back on the waiting list in the same place you were when your package expired.