Practical
Paying for care, explained plainly
Most families ring us knowing they need help and not knowing how any of it is paid for. Here is the landscape in plain terms, including the parts where we are not the right people to ask.
There are two separate systems, and they do different jobs
The first is publicly funded home support, arranged through your health authority — in most of the communities we serve, that is Fraser Health. The second is private care, which is what Kinship provides. They are not competing options and a great many families end up using both.
Confusing the two is the single most common thing we untangle on a first phone call, so it is worth setting out clearly.
What publicly funded home support generally covers
Publicly funded home support is arranged by a health authority for people who have been assessed as eligible. Broadly, it is aimed at hands-on personal assistance rather than company or housekeeping.
Generally covered
- Hands-on assistance with washing, dressing and getting around the home
- Support scheduled in short, task-focused visits
- Arranged and reviewed by a case manager who assesses what someone is eligible for
Generally not covered
- Companionship — someone to sit and talk with, or to go out with
- Housekeeping, laundry and general upkeep of the home
- Grocery shopping and everyday errands
- Driving to appointments and staying with someone through them
- Overnight company and live-in arrangements
Where Kinship fits
Companion care of the kind we provide is generally paid for privately. That is not a gap we have chosen to exploit — it is simply that company, cooking, housekeeping, shopping and driving sit outside what the public system is set up to fund.
For many of our families, this works alongside publicly funded support rather than instead of it. A health authority worker may come in the morning for personal assistance; we come in the afternoon so that somebody is there to cook, talk, and take them to the appointment on Thursday.
Our shortest booking is 4 hours, and we quote your rate after the free consultation once we know how many hours a week would genuinely help. There is no charge for that consultation and no obligation at the end of it.
What we cannot help you with
Kinship does not administer, apply for, or advise on government funding programs. We are not able to tell you what your parent is eligible for, complete an application on your behalf, or advise on how an assessment is likely to go.
Families should speak to their health authority case manager directly. They are the only people who can assess eligibility and they are the only accurate source for what any of it will involve.
Who to call about publicly funded support
Your health authority's home health team
For most of the communities we serve this is Fraser Health. Ask to be referred for a home health assessment; that is the route to a case manager, who is the person who determines eligibility.
HealthLink BC — dial 8-1-1
A free provincial line, available around the clock, where you can ask general questions about health services in BC and be pointed to the right place. Translation is available.
Your parent's own doctor
A referral from the family doctor is often the quickest way into a home health assessment, and they will already know the local picture.
And if you would rather just talk it through
You are welcome to ring us even if you end up going down the publicly funded route. We can explain how the two systems tend to fit together for families in your area, and we will say honestly when the public system is the better first call.
Our questions and answers page covers how billing works in general terms.
Talk it through with someone local
We will explain how the public and private systems tend to fit together for families in your area — and tell you honestly when the health authority is the better first call.
Phones answered 24/7, including evenings and weekends.