AHS SMC

So I had my meeting with the Alberta Health Services Self-Managed Care programme director today. We went through the various options around funding and requirements. According to her, I might be close to having enough for what I want, a live-in caregiver. In my situation very little makes sense in terms of self-managed care. I do well with the existing system, except when I find myself alone with a minor, non-emergent issue, like a dropped glass of water or some such thing. Yet I need more care.

AHS is prepared to provide me with funding possibly up to $3,000 a month, although the current level of care is only funded at about $2,700 a month. The difference has to do with the amount of care I currently use versus what I could be using. It would be in my best interest if I ran up my care needs at the moment. Of course this is precisely why the SMC director suggested she might see if she could get it all the way up to $3,000.

The way the budget breaks out is roughly $2,300 - $2,500 for a live-in. From that wage I am permitted to deduct about $140 for board and $300 for meals. I can use either of those to add incentive, for example not charging for board, but charging for meals. In addition, if I charge for meals, I can allow her to retain some of those funds so she can shop for herself, getting the kinds of foods she prefers. The balance of the funds would go to cover five to six days a month, allowing the live-in one dedicated day per week off, along with coverage for statutory holidays.

It's the whole holiday part that is the biggest problem. First of all, if I pay the holiday coverage $20/hour, and reduce my care level on that one day, I could probably get the cost down to less than $100 per day. I don't think there is a minimum number of call-out hours in the case of home care. Nonetheless, weekend and holiday coverage will likely be as much as $500 a month.

Then there are the costs associated with having an employee and doing the paperwork. There is an agency in Edmonton who will do all of this remotely for as little as $100 a month, however there are the costs associated with setting up a company to do the hiring. I am investigating the possibility of using the agency as the corporate entity. Then there are things like banking costs, CPP. EI and vacation pay. All of these must come out of the SMC funding.

No matter how I look at it, I am likely going to be cutting the edges around how much I pay, or having to come up with roughly $200 to $300 additional funding each month. As time goes by, my funding level will likely increase, which leaves me with the option of waiting for a while, until I am really in bad shape, then applying for SMC. I'm not sure I want to do that. I need help now. As with all things, it's the money. It's always the money.