• What is the Residential Care Subsidy?

The Residential Care Subsidy (RCS) is what the Ministry of Health pays towards the cost of long term residential care in a hospital or rest home.

• Will the subsidy pay the full fee?.

The RCS won’t pay for the care in full. The resident will be required to contribute some of their income (including most of their superannuation or other benefits) towards the cost of care.

• Understanding the process.

The first thing that happens is that the person going into care must have a Needs Assessment. This will determine what kind of care they need (both mental and physical health care). Unfortunately, it is not possible to get hold of the RCS application form until the Needs Assessment has been completed. Once the application form has been submitted, there will be a Financial Means Assessment of the resident’s/the couple’s income and assets to decide if they are eligible for the RCS.

• Who does what?

The assessment of income and assets is done by Work and Income NZ (WINZ) but the Ministry of Health actually pays the RCS directly to the hospital or rest home. The resident will need to pay the amount they are required to contribute to the hospital or rest home separately.

• Don’t worry about the timing.

You can enter care before the subsidy is approved. Many people worry about who will pay the rest home hospital fees whilst they are waiting for the subsidy to be approved. The reality is that hospitals and rest homes deal with this situation all the time. We know how the process works and will be ok to wait for payment until the application has been processed.

• What happens if the resident’s needs change and they require a higher level of care?

If a resident’s needs change and they require a higher level of care, ie hospital level care rather than rest home level care, there will be no change in the resident’s assessed contribution towards the cost of their care.

• Where are some good resources?

The Ministry of Health website www.health.govt.nz a good starting place. The easiest way to get to the relevant information is to go to the website and then search for “residential care subsidy”. The questions and answers document is particularly helpful. You could also look at the WINZ website www.workandincome.govt.nz for more detailed information about the financial side of things.

 More information:

Paying for care – Residential Care Subsidies and Residential Care Loans.  

https://www.eldernet.co.nz/gazette/paying-for-care-residential-care-subsidies-and-residential-care-loans/

Step 1. Arrange for a Needs assessment.

If you like you would like to move into care the first step is to have a needs assessment completed. These assessments are carried out by a Needs coordinator team who are part of the DHB. The easiest way to arrange one of these assessments is through your GP.

More information:

A Needs Assessment Service Co-ordination NASC service is obliged to establish if each person meets criteria to be eligible. Staff will talk to you about this, and will work with you and your family/whanau to find out your abilities, resources, goals and needs, and then help you to identify which of these needs are the most important. They will then work with you to plan what supports or services are available to help meet your goals and needs.

The NASC then identifies with you:

• which services or supports you are eligible for, and
• which of the supports and services are funded

The NASC then facilitates the commencement of these services and supports. If funded services are needed these services are delivered by provider organisations contracted by the Ministry of Health or by District Health Boards. These services could include help in the home (such as housework), help with personal cares (such as showering), respite care, support for independent living, and  long term residential care.

Step 2 have the Needs assessment undertaken

Once the assessment date has been organised a needs assessor will come to your home (or the hospital, if you’re currently in hospital) a meet with you and your family. The questions are primary focused on how well you are managing day-to day.

Once you have completed the assessment you will receive a letter to let you know if you have been approved for aged care services. You will be told what type of services you are eligible for and approved to receive.

Note just because your eligible for services does not mean you have to make use of them. For example just because you approved for rest home care does not mean you have to move into a rest home it just means you have got the option.

Step 3: Finding an aged care home.

 The best way to find a place that suits you is to visit a few different homes. Each home is different, so visiting them will help you to find out what you can expect. You’ll also be able to see what the accommodation is like, and what types of care, services and activities they offer.

Your Needs assessor will give you a list of all the care facilities in your choose area. There are also some excellent web sites which can help you find an aged care home. Such as (Eldernet) https://www.eldernet.co.nz/Home.

Helpful links:

Ministry of health “Choosing a Rest Home” https://www.govt.nz/browse/health/residential-care/choose-rest-home/

Step 4. Paying for residential care

Once you have completed a needs assessment you can apply for a financial Means assessment. Depending upon your financial needs you might be eligible for a Subsidy. Combined with a pension component the Subsidy covers most of the cost associated with living in a residential care facility.

Useful links:

Work and Income Residential Care Subsidy https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/residential-care-subsidy.html

Ministry of Health Paying for residential Care

Step 5 moving into Care

Each aged care home is different. There will be new routines, new surroundings and new people all living together under one roof. You may have help with many of the day-to-day tasks that you’ve been used to doing for yourself, and there will be plenty of social activities going on in your new home.

You’ll get to decide what you want to do each day and have control over your personal matters. Staff at the home will respect your privacy, and your friends and family will be able to visit at any time. And as long as your health allows, you’ll be able to go on holidays, visit friends and come and go as you wish.