Medical alarms for Retirement Village residents

Clients who live in retirement villages generally pay a standard service fee to cover services provided. This service fee may include the cost of medical alarm services, and these may vary between retirement villages.

These costs cannot be included in Disability Allowance as they are not directly related to a clients’ particular disability.

Clients living in a retirement village may have the cost of a medical alarm included in their Disability Allowance if they meet all Disability Allowance and medical alarm criteria and:

• the medical alarm is additional to anything supplied by the village and
• the cost is not included in the standard fee paid by all residents of the retirement village

or

• the cost of the medical alarm is included in the standard service fee and
• the client was getting Disability Allowance for the cost of a medical alarm before moving and the same cost still exists in the retirement village

Note Disability Allowance cannot be paid for the cost of a medical alarm if the client is getting Residential Care Subsidy.

Hugh lives in a retirement village and part of the service fee they pay covers an in-home medical alarm. Hugh is active in the community and will often go out alone.

Hugh wants to apply for an anywhere medical alarm and meets all eligibility criteria. Hugh's doctor has verified the need for the anywhere medical alarm service.

As this service is additional to the service that is covered by the retirement village and the cost of this additional service is not included in the standard fee, Hugh can have the anywhere medical alarm service cost included in his Disability Allowance.