What public funding for help at home can cover, and where it stops

This is information, not medical, financial or legal advice, and what applies to your parent is for the public body where they live to decide. Help at home has been mentioned, and the next question came close behind: what would public funding cover?

Start from what each body says it can include

Health Canada describes home and community care as the health and social services people receive at home or in their community; the broad kinds are in What help at home can include.

Ontario's page lists services from health care professionals, personal support and homemaking among the in-home services available through Ontario Health atHome.

British Columbia describes home support services as direct care from community health workers that helps a person keep doing things for themselves and live at home as long as possible, and says they may also take in some household tasks, such as laundry, in addition to personal care when appropriate.

In Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta describes home and community care as personal care, nursing and help with daily tasks that come to a person where they already live, and the Government of Alberta says the health and personal care services provided through it are publicly funded.

Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) says its Home Support Service can help with everyday tasks such as getting in and out of bed, dressing and personal care, and that the type of support depends on the person's needs.

Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Ireland are the places this guide covers. Québec and Canada's territories are not covered, as no official source on funding was found for them; there, and in other provinces, it is the public health or social care body where your parent lives that can say. No official source on funding was found for Thailand either, and readers there can turn to the public health or social care body where their parent lives.

Know where the bodies tie funded help to an assessment

Ontario's page says the home care services Ontario Health atHome provides are decided on a person's assessed needs and the services available in their community. British Columbia's page says a person's preference is considered, but their need, as determined by a formal assessment, is the main consideration in deciding which publicly subsidized service is provided. In Ireland, the HSE says its decision on a home support application is based on the person's needs assessment and any other community supports available to them. What a care needs assessment is, and your parent's part in it covers the assessment itself.

Expect that some help may sit outside it

Health Canada says some home and community care services in Canada may not be paid for by provincial and territorial health insurance plans. In Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta says home and community care does not provide every service a person might need, and describes its approach as supplementing the care and support families and community services give. Whether any charge applies to your parent is for the body to say.

Ask what applies, with your parent leading

What help is asked for, and whether any is taken up, is your parent's call. These are their questions, to ask themselves or with you alongside:

• What would the help include?
• Is there any charge?
• What happens if needs change?

Where it is unclear whether your parent can make a particular decision, that is for their doctor or care team rather than the family, and the formal rules for it differ between places.

Take what applies to the body that funds it

What is funded, any charge and any later change are for the public body that funds the help, asked with your parent. For planning around money, a money adviser where your parent lives is the one to ask, and health questions are worth bringing to their doctor or care team.