Reshaping the spiralling costs of care after Government proposals
15I07I09
Reshaping the
spiralling costs of care after Government proposals
The cost of care is
causing misery to many families. Careful savers are losing those
savings and in some cases their homes to pay for care.
The Government is
beginning to address this issue at last with the launch of the
Green Paper ‘Shaping the Future of Care Together’. The public has
been asked to give their views on three possible options to fund
future care for the elderly:
- A “partnership” approach, under which the
State would pay around a quarter to a third of the cost of basic
social care and support, leaving individuals to find the
remainder;
- A voluntary insurance scheme, under which the
State would pay the same proportion, but would also make it easier
for individuals to take out insurance.
- Compulsory insurance for all, costing around
£17,000 to £20,000 and providing care for all who need it.
Lisa Morgan, Associate
Solicitor with Specialist Nursing Care Team at leading law firm
Hugh James states “I am pleased that the Government has made
proposals to remove the current postcode lottery that we currently
have in England in funding social care. There is currently a wide
disparity across the country of the use of the discretionary powers
in offering deferred payment schemes. This is unfair and
unpredictable. Individuals are entitled to a consistent approach
across the country”.
“Thousands of people a
year are being forced to sell their homes to pay for care. In our
experience this causes anxiety and distress to individuals and
their families. The current rules are complex and unfair and we
welcome a reform of the system”.
The Department of Health
is also consulting on whether the insurance costs should be
deferred until after death, paid in instalments or in one lump sum
when an individual reaches retirement age.
Lisa Morgan stated “The
proposed Green Paper will only affect those people who require
social care. This will not affect individuals who are entitled to
NHS Continuing Healthcare, where the primary reason they are in a
care home is because of their health and all costs will still be
met for free by the NHS.”
“However these proposals
have done nothing to fill the gap in the provision of information
about this important matter or the way that it is assesses. This
means that the problem of unnecessarily lost savings continues when
some fact finding and communication with the appropriate
professionals could save them time and money.”
Hugh
James leads in the field of assisting people to recover fees paid
to care homes.
Notes:
- The Government announced the long awaited
Green Paper ‘Shaping the Future of Care Together’ on Tuesday to
reform the way people pay for social care in the future.
- The proposals only cover the cost of social
care and therefore on top of this people with the means to do so
would still need to pay for their own accommodation and food costs.
At present, care homes do not separate such costs within their
overall fees.
- In Wales, the public consultation on the
future of paying for care ended on the 28 February 2009. The Welsh
Assembly Government intends to publish a Green Paper in the autumn.
This will set out its proposals for reforming the system for paying
for care.
- If you are eligible for NHS Continuing
Healthcare, you do not make any contribution towards the long term
care fees. The NHS pays the whole cost and it applies if a person
is in hospital, care home or in their own home.
- The average weekly cost for care, per person,
is £627
- Hugh James currently represents over 750
people claiming they have been wrongly charged nursing care fees in
England and Wales and have recovered over £5 million in wrongly
paid care home fees.
For further information contact:
Lisa Morgan
Senior Associate
E lisa.morgan@hughjames.com
T 029 2022 4871