When loss of autonomy comes knocking at the door of elderly people, staying at home can prove difficult. Indeed, it represents high costs that are sometimes difficult to finance. To remedy this, aid has been put in place such as the Personalized Autonomy Allowance, also known as APA. As of January 1, 2024, its hourly rate has increased, which is correspondingly rich for elderly people. We will return to this situation in detail.
Universal, the Personalized Autonomy Allowance (APA) is paid to people over 60 years old while its amount is defined according to the level of dependency and income. To benefit from it, you must nevertheless reside in France on a stable and regular basis, but also be in a situation of dependency. You can collect an application file for the APA from town halls, local information and coordination centers (CLIC) or home help services. It can, in certain cases, be issued online.
Since January 1, 2024, its hourly rate has increased by a little more than 2%. A figure which does not satisfy the federations in the home help sector for the elderly, especially since the APA must be revalued according to the same rule as the increase for third parties (MTP). As reported by our colleagues at MSN, the president of the Association of Directors Serving the Elderly (AD-PA), Pascal Champvert, was indignant at an “unacceptable” situation.
According to Pascal Champvert, “a cost study by the ministry showed [nearly ten years ago] that the hour of home help should cost 24 euros”, but this is still not the case today. today. The minimum amount has, in fact, increased from 23 euros per hour to 23.50 euros, an increase of 2.17%.
The weakness of this revaluation has a strong impact on the financial situation of the beneficiaries. Remember that structures which are not authorized for this social assistance can practice an increase of 5.95%: as Frank Nataf, president of the French Federation of Personal and Local Services (Fédésap), recalls, “like many home help services are in difficulty, many of them will use this maximum rate”.
In this context, the dependent person must bear a cost, which includes the co-payment, a percentage of the APA base rate which varies according to their income (around 20%) and the rest payable. According to this increase, the remaining cost should increase from 3 to 4.05 euros.
As part of a base rate following the increase in the increase for third parties, i.e. 24.29 euros per hour, the co-payment increases from 4.60 to 4.86 euros, an increase of 5.65% . The remaining charge increases, here, to a lesser extent from 3 to 3.26 euros. According to Frank Nataf, “the government is passing on to individuals the increase in the APA base rate which it does not want to finance”.
