Are you entering aged care home?

You MUST DEBUNK to find that right aged care home

Hello, I’m Guruh

I am here to tell you about the three familiar myths families think silently about when they are searching for an aged care home.

These are common myths I have helped countless families debunk over the last 12 years. I am putting these online for selfish reasons. Truthfully, I am actually quite sick to have to DEBUNK these three myths repeatedly, even-though it has helped my clients know what’s different between an aged care specialist financial planner from others who just dabble in this field.

And if you find this information helpful, I am grateful if you share to families with older parents so they can see past those glossy advertisements.

So here we go…

Myth #1: More $$$ = More Care, NOT!

You see, most families entering into an aged care home thinks that the more money they pay, the more care they get. This is NOT TRUE. Although with more fees, you may get more attention and services, the care you need is decided by what is known in the industry as an Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) Report. As the name of this report suggest, this report decides how much government funding the aged care home will get for providing you with the CARE YOU NEED. It has NOTHING to do with how much fees you pay, which is a topic enough to fill another short write-up to explain.

Want more information about ACFI? I found this video on YouTube, intended for service providers and not consumers, but there are useful information. WARNING though, it can boring to watch. Click here

Myth #2: Mistreating the Family Home

Now that you know Myth #1, this will make more sense.

In Sep last year, Annie came to see me because her mum was about to enter into an aged care home. Annie has actually decided to sell the home before coming to me. I still remember. Annie said, “Guruh, I am here not because I am convinced I need help with this decision to sell the home. Afterall, the RAD is $700,000, there’s only $135,000 in the bank. I came only because both the aged care home and government website suggest that I seek financial advice if I want to maximise benefits.” She was not happy to see me at first, but at our one hour Aged Care Fee Facts session, she learnt about asset test concessions on the home under both aged care and pension calculations, which are different. If the home had been sold, her mum’s full age pension would have been prematurely terminated and her Means-tested care fee increased by over 20 times.