Costs and funding
Hourly rates, live-in prices and the ways families pay for care at home.
What care costs
You pay for the time a carer spends with you, by the quarter hour, with no joining fee. You get an itemised invoice every two weeks.
Weekday visits, Monday to Friday
Visits of 30 minutes or longer, billed by the quarter hour
$34 an hour
Weekend visits
$38 an hour
Public holidays
$51 an hour
Phone check-in call
With any plan of two visits or more a week
Free
Live-in care
One carer living in, breaks covered
From $1,450 a week
Home assessment
About an hour, at home
Free
Example prices.
Ways to pay
Paying yourself
Most families pay privately, by card or bank transfer. You can stop or change visits with a week’s notice.
Long-term care insurance
Many policies pay towards home care. We send the invoices and care notes your insurer asks for.
Veterans’ benefits
Some veterans and their spouses can get help with home care costs. Ask us how to apply.
State programs
Medicaid waiver programs cover home care for some people. We can tell you who to contact in Springfield (sample).
Checking what you can get
Three questions to ask before care starts. We can help with the calls.
Is there a long-term care policy?
Look for papers from an insurer. Ask what it pays per day for home care and whether there is a waiting period.
Was the person who needs care a veteran, or married to one?
Ask the local veterans’ office about help with home care costs.
Could a state program help?
Medicaid waiver programs pay for home care for some people with low incomes and savings. The area agency on aging can tell you more (sample).
Every care week starts empty
A care coordinator visits you at home, free of charge, to talk through the day and plan the visits with you. There is nothing to sign at the assessment.
Your week, before the assessment
At the home assessment we fill it in with you: which days, which times, how long.