Applying for an aid or a home adaptation often feels like a maze. You usually do know what’s needed. A grab rail by the toilet. A threshold that has to go. Maybe a stairlift. But who pays for that? And which desk do you need? What if you do something wrong? It’s completely normal if you dread this. Especially if you already care a lot for someone.
So we’ll explain it calmly. As soon as you know which routes there are, and in which order you follow them, a lot of tension falls away. You don’t have to take it all in at once. Step by step, you’ll get there. And you’re not on your own.
What are aids, actually?
The word “aid” sounds big. But often it’s about something very ordinary. Something that makes daily life safer or easier. Sometimes that’s small. Sometimes it’s a bigger change in the home. These are the kinds there are:
- Simple aids and walking aids — such as a walker, a wheelchair, or grab rails to hold on to.
- Adaptations to the home — such as a threshold ramp, so your loved one doesn’t trip. Or a stairlift. Or an adapted bathroom where you can shower safely.
- Smart technology at home (home automation) — such as motion sensors, fall detection, a GPS tracker for someone with dementia, an emergency button, or an electronic door lock.
- Smart medication help — such as a medication dispenser or a voice assistant. It helps you remember medication and appointments. Some systems even give you a signal as an informal carer if something is wrong. For example, in the event of a fall.
This technology can really lighten your load. You no longer have to watch out for everything yourself. A sensor or an app takes over part of that “always being alert” for you. Do you want to know whether something like that fits you? Start small. Choose one aid for one problem that keeps coming back. That often already brings a lot of peace of mind.
Where do I apply for an aid or home adaptation?
This is where most people get stuck. So we’ll take a moment for it. Which desk you need depends on what you need. There are roughly three routes.
Route 1: your municipality (the Wmo)
The Social Support Act (Wmo) helps people to live independently at home for as long as possible. The municipality carries out this act. This is the route for most aids and adaptations in and around the home. The Wmo covers, among other things:
- walking aids, such as a wheelchair;
- home adaptations, such as grab rails, threshold ramps, a stairlift, or an adapted bathroom;
- household help, guidance, and day activities;
- respite care: someone takes over the care from you for a while, so that you as an informal carer can catch your breath.
Here’s how you apply:
- Get in touch with the Wmo desk or the local social team of your municipality.
- Then a kitchen-table conversation follows. This is a calm talk with a Wmo consultant. A consultant is a member of staff at the municipality. You talk together about your situation and about what you need. Don’t be put off by the word — it’s simply a conversation at the table.
- Together with you, the consultant draws up a support plan. That is a plan with the help you will get.
- You choose yourself how you arrange the help. With care in kind, the municipality arranges it for you. With a personal budget (PGB), you get a sum of money and arrange the care yourself.
For help through the Wmo, you sometimes pay a personal contribution. That is a part of the costs that you pay yourself. This goes through the CAK. Feel free to ask during the conversation what this means for you. Then you know in advance where you stand.
Route 2: your health insurance (the Zvw)
Some care does not belong with the municipality. It belongs with your health insurance (Health Insurance Act, Zvw). This is mainly about nursing and personal care at home. We call that home care. Do you need that? Then this is your route:
- Call your GP. They refer you on or arrange an assessment. An assessment is a decision that you are entitled to care.
- A district nurse comes to your home to look at what’s needed. A referral letter isn’t always necessary. You may also call a home-care organisation yourself.
- Together you make a care plan. After that, the care starts.
Home care is reimbursed from the basic health insurance. For the district nursing itself, you pay no deductible. The deductible is the amount you pay yourself first, before the insurance pays. Note: for other care from the basic insurance, your deductible sometimes does count.
Route 3: the Wlz (only for heavy, permanent care)
Does your loved one need heavy care day and night, and will it stay that way? Then the care may fall under the Long-Term Care Act (Wlz). That is a separate route, with its own assessment. Does your loved one live at home and is an aid or adaptation needed? Then the municipality (Wmo) and the health insurance (Zvw) are usually the first routes.
Do you find it hard to work out which desk you need? That’s completely normal. Almost no one sees the difference between these acts straight away. And you don’t have to work it out alone. Take a look at Help nearby on this site. There you’ll find an organisation near you that thinks along with you.
The golden rule: always apply first
This is the most important thing in this article. That’s why we set it apart, in bold letters:
> Always apply for a home adaptation or aid first. Wait for approval before you buy anything or have it installed. Afterwards, you will not get the costs back.
Many people make this mistake, with the best intentions. You want to arrange it quickly and well for your loved one. So you go ahead and buy that stairlift. Or you have the bathroom adapted in advance. And then it turns out: the municipality no longer reimburses it, precisely because it’s already done. Your haste is understandable. But make the application first. Wait for the green light. Only then give the go-ahead. That little bit of patience can save you a lot of money.
And what about a caregiver home?
Do you want to live closer to your loved one? Or together in one place? Then you might think of a caregiver home. That is a temporary dwelling on the same plot or address. Sometimes you don’t need a permit for it. But the rules differ from one municipality to another. So always check first with your own municipality, before you put anything up. Here too the rule is: ask first, then act.
How do I know what I need?
Maybe you doubt whether an aid is really needed. Or it feels like “making a fuss”. That feeling is allowed to be there. But don’t let it hold you back. An aid actually helps. It keeps you and your loved one safe and independent for longer.
Don’t know where to begin? You don’t have to figure everything out yourself. In the kitchen-table conversation, the consultant thinks along with you about what fits. And it helps to look at yourself too. How hard is it for you, really? Sometimes you then notice that a smart aid or a bit of extra help is exactly what you were missing.
We’ll leave big money matters aside here. Think of the annual caregiver appreciation, a PGB, or tax deductions. The caregiver appreciation is a yearly token of appreciation for what you do as an informal carer. These things belong to another article about financial support. Good to know they exist. Look into them further once the aids themselves are arranged.
A quick summary
- Aids range from simple (a walker, grab rails) to bigger changes (a stairlift, an adapted bathroom). And there is smart technology at home (sensors, a medication dispenser, an emergency button).
- There are three routes. The municipality (Wmo) for adaptations in the home and provisions. Your health insurance (Zvw) for nursing and personal care at home. And sometimes the Wlz for heavy, permanent care.
- An application to the Wmo starts with contacting the Wmo desk. Then a kitchen-table conversation follows.
- The golden rule: always apply for a home adaptation first and wait for approval. Afterwards, you get no reimbursement.
- A caregiver home is sometimes allowed without a permit. But the rules differ from one municipality to another. Always check first.
What now?
Take one small step today. Call or email the Wmo desk of your municipality. Ask for a kitchen-table conversation for the aid or the adaptation you have in mind. Don’t yet know which route fits you? Or would you like someone to think along with you? Then take a look at Help nearby on this site. There you’ll find an organisation near you. And remember: apply first, and only then buy or have things installed.
