How Five Good Friends is transparent with home care pricing
Home care transparency and trust
Recently, a review was undertaken by the Department of Health into pricing transparency on the My Aged Care website (My Aged Care). It looked into whether providers have complete, accurate and up-to-date pricing information.
At Five Good Friends, we believe home care price transparency is crucial to building trust. It’s essential for empowering care recipients to make informed choices and exercise control over their care.
Here are some ways we demonstrate transparency to our Members.
Publishing our full price list
One aspect of the review was making sure providers like Five Good Friends had complete correct and up-to-date pricing information on My Aged Care. Making sure our price list is accurate is one of our priorities.
Our pricing structure is as straightforward as it can be. This is so you can see the costs associated with different levels of care, services, and duration of care.
We publish our price list on both our website and My Aged Care (search for Five Good Friends in your state). We try to provide as much information as possible so you can make an informed decision about your care.
Cost of additional services
Part of our transparency is clearly communicating the cost of any additional services or options that might arise if your needs change. Examples of this include overnight care or travel fees. We explain any fees or surcharges that may apply so you’re aware of the fees before you commit.
Easy-to-understand contracts
When we set out your service agreement, we make sure you are aware of any fees and charges that you might have to pay. It’s important to us that you understand the fees you will need to pay. What you pay will depend on your income circumstances.
Real time visibility of funds
Through our tech enabled care management app Lookout, we provide real time visibility of your fund usage. This means whenever you log in, you can see exactly what funds you have left to spend and where those funds are held.
It may include the balance in the following accounts:
- Home Care Account: unspent funds from your Home Care Package entitlement held by the Government on your behalf.
- Income Tested Fee Account: the net closing balance of Income Tested Fees paid or payable.
- Client Contributions Account: the net closing balance of Client Contributions paid or payable.
We also provide a list called ‘care and services’ which is a list of all the transactions related to your care and the services delivered during the claim period. By creating this itemised list, it allows you to see exactly where your money is going and helps you make informed decisions.
Monthly statements
We also provide monthly statements so you know exactly where you’re at with your Home Care Package. In our statements, we include:
- Net Cost: The total cost of care, services and goods for the billing period.
- Payable by Income Tested Fee: The amount of your total cost payable based on your assessed Income Tested Fee, if any.
- Payment by Government Subsidy and Supplements: The amount of your Home Care Package entitlement for the period paid to your care provider by the Government, if any.
- Payment by Home Care Account: The amount of your previously unspent Home Care Package entitlement from prior periods, held by Government in your Home Care Account paid to your care provider, if any.
- Payment by Income Tested Fee Account: The amount of your previously unspent Income Tested Fees from prior periods used in this billing period, if any.
- Payable by Client Contributions: The amount of your total cost payable as a Client Contribution, if any.
Help every step of the way
If there’s something you’re not sure about, we have a dedicated team of people who are waiting to talk to you. Just give us a call 1300 787 581.
At Five Good Friends, we’re fully committed to supporting you to live the life you want with trusted and empathetic service delivery. If you’d like to know more, get in touch.
Learn more: How to choose a Home Care Package provider
