What are my options for paying for long term care in the UK?

Paying for long term care is a subject that causes an enormous amount of anxiety and confusion among individuals and their families. Equally, politicians from all parties acknowledge that the current system is neither fair nor sustainable in the long term. But there is no simple solution and a recently published commission on paying for long term care has arguably raised as many questions as answers.

Currently long term care can be funded by the NHS and your local authority. To qualify for NHS funding, your needs must be defined as primarily health care rather than personal care. There is a two-stage process of assessment for this funding, which is called continuing healthcare. If you qualify, the funding is provided by your local primary care trust and is not subject to any means test. However, there remains much controversy around this assessment because the distinction between health care and personal care can be very subjective. People who are eligible for continuing healthcare funding tend to have complex medical needs which require specialist nursing (rather than general care) support. Sometimes, people are the final stages of their life.

Local authority funding is based upon your income, rather than your personal or health care needs. If your income is more than £23,250, you will not be entitled to any local authority funding from social services. Your property is included in your total capital, unless there are any ‘disregards' such as a spouse or dependent relative living in the property. If your income is between £14,250 and £23,250, you will need to part fund your care.

For many thousands of people, there is no financial assistance. It is estimated that 41 per cent of people in long term care within the UK are self-funders. Many of them will have to sell their home. Each year, about 20,000 people sell their home to pay for long term care. With no overall cap on care home fees, over time, many people run out of funding and fall back on the local authority to pay care bills.

Recently, the economist Andrew Dilnot chaired an independent commission into long term care for the elderly. He recommended that no individual should have to pay more than £35,000 in care costs. After that limit, the state would be eligible for fees. He also argues the limit in the means test for local authority funding should be very significantly increased from £23,000 to £100,000.

The idea behind these two proposals is that overall, no individual should have to spend more than a third of their capital on care costs. It is then hypothesized with personal loss restricted in this way, the private section would then be willing to develop affordable insurance products for the cost of long term care.

A White Paper on these issues is proposed for Spring 2012. Some people fear the recommendations have little chance of being adopted in the current climate of cuts to state spending. Equally, charities for the elderly say there is no better time to ensure paying for long term care is in the spotlight and changes are made to create a fairer and more sustainable funding system.

About the Author

Vincent Rogers writes for a number of UK businesses. For <a href=http://www.carehomeselection.co.uk/>care home advice</a> he recommend Care Home Selection.