Ed,

I read the letter from Oscar Tamsen re “the cost of getting older” (CVI 14/2/24) with interest.

As the Carer for a new recipient of a Level 4 Home Care Package I understand your point precisely, but I can say for certain that if you are able to do some research (which I did) prior to our HCP being approved you can do so much better than giving away up to 30% of your package funds.

In the end I have signed up with a “self-managed” package which take a 15% fee for administration, and I have sourced my own support worker for my husband and a cleaner for a weekly clean and I can promise I am not paying anything like $76 an hour. Yes, the staff that I have now employed must have current insurance and police checks in place but that gives me peace of mind that I have reputable people coming into my home.

I accept that not all recipients of these HCP’s are able to go self-managed but please let me say it has not been a difficult path to navigate. The provider that I did choose has made the whole process quite an easy one.

Bottom line is, research your options.

Kathy Hill, Coutts Crossing