Paying for Care in Wales - the big debate!
16 I 11 I 09
Lisa Morgan
Proposals have been laid
out today by the Welsh Assembly Government on how care for elderly
people could be funded in the future.
The Welsh Assembly
Government launched their Green Paper on ‘Paying for Care in
Wales’. At the launch today, Deputy Social Services Minister Gwenda
Thomas said ‘It is widely acknowledged that the current system
of paying for care is complicated, unfair and unsustainable in the
long term.’ The public has been asked to join the debate and
consider three options which mirrors those announced by the UK
government in July this year.
The three options are:
- A “partnership” approach, under which the
State would pay around 25% to 30% of the cost of basic social care
and support (not accommodation costs) for people and up to 100% on
low incomes. This would mean that the average person, on an average
income, would pay up to £22,500 towards social care;
- An insurance scheme, which people can join
for a one-off payment of £20,000 to £25,000 and all their basic
care and support would be free. This could be a private insurance
scheme or a state-based one similar to National Insurance.
- Comprehensive scheme 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 High James states
“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 Assembly have put forward ideas
of how people can pay into the Insurance or Comprehensive scheme
whether they 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.”
Hugh James leads in the
field of assisting people to recover fees paid to care homes.
Further information
- Consultation on the Green Paper will run until 28
February 2010. There is a dedicated 'Paying for Care in Wales'
website: http://www.payingforcareinwales.net/,
which includes an on-line response facility.
- 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.
- 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 1000 people claiming
they have been wrongly charged nursing care fees in England and
Wales and have recovered over £8 million in wrongly paid care home
fees.
