CDHCI funding, and what care costs
Choose the provider you want, and let the hours approved through Alberta Health Services be invoiced rather than paid out of your pocket. Here is how the program works, and how the rest of the cost is worked out.
Publicly funded home care, delivered by the provider you choose
As a registered Client Directed Home Care (CDHCI) provider, we offer direct billing through Alberta Blue Cross, eliminating out-of-pocket costs for eligible services. The CDHCI program allows approved Alberta Health Services (AHS) clients to choose their preferred provider and maintain control over their care and scheduling.
In plainer language: CDHCI is Alberta’s Client-Directed Home Care Invoicing program. If AHS has assessed you and approved home care hours, you choose who delivers them rather than being assigned a provider. We bill Alberta Blue Cross directly for the eligible services in your care plan, so there is nothing to pay up front and nothing to claim back.
For most families that changes the conversation entirely. The question stops being “can we afford help?” and becomes “who do we actually want in the house?”
What All Well Care does under the program
CDHCI home care provider
You can name All Well Care as the provider you want to deliver the home care hours approved for you. Our caregivers — Health Care Aides and Personal Support Workers — deliver the services set out in your care plan.
Client-Directed Home Care Invoicing
We handle the billing side of the program directly, so your family is not chasing paperwork or fronting money and waiting to be reimbursed. You receive the care; we submit the invoice.
Who the program is for
Eligibility for home care and for CDHCI is decided by Alberta Health Services through a case manager’s assessment — never by a provider. These are the criteria AHS applies.
- An AHS assessment comes first. To receive publicly funded home care, you must be assessed by a home care case manager, who completes a standardized assessment of your unmet care needs.
- Alberta residency. Anyone legally entitled to be in Canada who makes Alberta their permanent residence can be assessed for home and community care.
- You live in your own home. CDHCI is not appropriate for people residing outside their home setting. Those living in a congregate setting — a lodge, private assisted or supportive living, or a group home — are not eligible.
- You can direct your own care. Choosing a client-directed option depends on the client’s, or their caregiver’s, ability to self-manage, self-direct and self-monitor their own care. Clients must be able and willing to manage their own care.
- Your care plan sets the services. Once a care plan is in place, you can hire a registered CDHCI provider of your choice to deliver the personal care, caregiver respite and home support services authorized in that plan.
You do not need a doctor’s referral
Albertans can refer themselves, or be referred by a family member or a health professional, to receive an assessment of their unmet care needs. No formal referral from a physician or other health professional is necessary.
Eligibility can change
A care plan is developed in partnership with you and your family, and reviewed as things change. If your care needs change, you or your family are expected to tell your case manager as soon as possible, and they will help reassess and adjust the plan. Eligibility can also change if a later assessment finds home and community care is no longer required.
Not sure whether any of this applies to you? That is the normal starting point, and it is what the free consultation is for. Call 587-ALLWELL (587-255-9355) and we will explain where you are in the process and who to speak to. For the official criteria, speak with your case manager or Alberta Health Services directly.
How CDHCI works, start to finish
The sequence below is the path most Edmonton families follow. We will walk you through your own situation on the phone — there is no charge for that conversation.
A referral is made — often by you
Home care in Alberta starts with a referral to Alberta Health Services. Albertans can refer themselves, or be referred by a family member or a health professional. No formal referral from a physician or other health professional is necessary, and you do not need a diagnosis to ask the question. Referrals also come from a hospital when someone is being discharged.
A case manager assesses the need
An AHS home care case manager completes a standardized assessment of your unmet care needs, and a care plan is developed in partnership with you and your family. The case manager determines what support is needed and how many hours are approved. This assessment is the piece that unlocks funded hours, and it belongs to AHS, not to any provider.
You choose your provider
This is the client-directed part. Once your care plan is in place, you can hire a registered CDHCI provider of your choice to deliver the personal care, caregiver respite and home support services it authorises. Whether the client-directed route suits you depends on your own, or your caregiver’s, ability to self-manage and self-direct that care. You can ask for All Well Care by name, and we will help you with exactly what to say and to whom.
We build your care plan together
We visit for a free consultation and write a plan covering which services, which days, which hours, language preference and caregiver preferences. It is set against your approved hours so you can see precisely what is covered.
Care begins and we bill Alberta Blue Cross
Your caregiver starts. We bill Alberta Blue Cross directly for the eligible services in your care plan, so there are no out-of-pocket costs for those hours and nothing for you to claim back. If you have chosen any additional private hours on top, those are quoted separately and clearly, and are always optional.
Reassessment as things change
Needs are not static. If your care needs change, you or your family are expected to tell your case manager as soon as possible, and they will help reassess and adjust the plan. If we see that more support is warranted we will tell you and help you prepare for that conversation. If less is needed, we say that too.
What is covered and what is not
We would rather be clear about this on a web page than have an awkward conversation later.
| Approved CDHCI hours | Additional private hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides the amount | Your AHS case manager, through assessment | You do — entirely optional |
| Who is billed | Billed directly to Alberta Blue Cross | Invoiced to you or your family |
| Out of pocket to you | Nothing for the approved hours | Quoted in writing before anything starts |
| Typical use | Personal care, caregiver respite and home support, as authorised in your care plan | Extra companionship, transportation, overnights, live-in cover |
| Can be changed | Through reassessment by the case manager | Any time, with reasonable notice |
Important. Eligibility, the number of approved hours and what those hours may be used for are all determined by Alberta Health Services through the case manager’s assessment — not by All Well Care. CDHCI applies to people cared for in their own home; those living in a congregate setting such as a lodge, private assisted or supportive living, or a group home are not eligible. We can explain the process, help you ask the right questions and provide the care once hours are approved, but we cannot approve hours ourselves. For the official program details, speak with your case manager or Alberta Health Services directly.
What your care actually costs depends on five things
We do not publish a single headline rate, because a single rate would be misleading. Here is what a quote is built from.
Hours per week
The single biggest factor. A daily 45-minute personal care visit is a very different figure from continuous live-in support, and most families sit somewhere in between.
Which services are included
Companionship and light household duties sit at one end; complex personal care, dementia support and overnight cover at the other. Your care plan lists exactly what is in and what is out.
When the care happens
Weekday daytime hours, overnight cover, weekends and statutory holidays are not all priced the same. We will show you the difference so you can shape the schedule around your budget.
How many approved hours you have
Every hour covered through CDHCI is an hour that is not out of pocket. Where approved hours exist, we build the plan around them first and only then discuss anything additional.
Whether care is continuous or occasional
Regular ongoing schedules are planned differently from occasional respite or short-term cover after a hospital stay. Both are available; they are quoted differently.
Nothing else
No signing fee, no assessment fee, no charge for the care plan, and no charge for reviewing or adjusting it later. If a cost is not in your written plan, you will not be billed for it.
How we handle money
- Everything in writing first. You see the full cost of the plan before care begins.
- Optional means optional. Additional private hours are never added without you asking for them.
- Approved hours come first. We build around funded hours before discussing anything paid.
- No lock-in. Hours can be reduced or paused with reasonable notice.
- Straight answers. If we think you are being asked to pay for something you do not need, we will say so.
Get a written quote
Tell us roughly what is needed and we will come out, look properly, and put a costed plan in your hands — free, and with no obligation.
Ask for our Executive Director.
What families usually want to know
Am I eligible for CDHCI?
Alberta Health Services decides that, not us. In short: you need to have been assessed by an AHS home care case manager and have a care plan in place, you need to be legally entitled to be in Canada with Alberta as your permanent residence, you need to be cared for in your own home rather than a congregate setting, and you or your caregiver need to be able and willing to self-manage and self-direct your care. The full criteria are set out above.
Do I need a referral from my doctor?
No. Albertans can refer themselves for an assessment of their unmet care needs, and a family member or a health professional can refer you as well. No formal referral from a physician or other health professional is necessary.
I live in a lodge or supportive living. Can I use CDHCI?
No. CDHCI is not appropriate for people residing outside their home setting, and a lodge, private assisted or supportive living, or a group home all count as congregate settings that are not eligible. Those settings usually have their own care arrangements, and your case manager is the right person to ask about what is available to you.
Do I need to already have a case manager to call you?
No. Plenty of families call us before anything has been arranged, simply to understand how home care works in Alberta. We will explain the referral route and what to expect. If you already have a case manager, tell us at the first call and we will work from there.
Can I switch to All Well Care if I already have a provider?
The program is client-directed, which means the choice of provider is yours. If you are unhappy with your current arrangement, speak with your case manager about changing providers, and let us know so we can be ready to start smoothly.
Will I be charged for the hours my case manager approved?
No. We bill Alberta Blue Cross directly for the eligible services in your care plan, so there are no out-of-pocket costs for those hours. The only amounts that ever come to you are for additional private hours you have specifically asked for, and those are quoted in writing before they begin.
What if my approved hours are not enough?
Two options, and you are free to use either or both. You can ask for a reassessment of your approved hours, which we will help you prepare for, and you can add private hours on top for as long as you want them.
How do I start?
Call 587-ALLWELL (587-255-9355) or send us a request. We will book a free in-home consultation, explain where you are in the process, and set out the next step clearly.
Is there really no charge for the assessment?
Correct. The in-home consultation and the written care plan are free, and there is no obligation to proceed. We do not charge a fee to tell you what your options are.
Why are hourly rates not published on the website?
Because the honest answer depends on the schedule and the services involved, and a single advertised number would mislead more people than it helped. Call us and we will talk through real figures for your actual situation — we are not cagey about it on the phone.
Do I have to sign a long-term contract?
No. Care can be increased, reduced or paused with reasonable notice. Situations change, and a care arrangement that cannot change with them is not much use.