Who is responsible for funding for care home fees? Will the government or NHS pay anything for care home fees? Is my relative’s house safe from being sold to pay care costs?
Call our team of experts at Compass Continuing healthcare today to see if your relative is entitled to free funding for care home. Our office number is 0800 008 7777. Alternatively please complete our FREE online assessment and we will contact you.
Who is responsible for funding for care home fees? Will the government or NHS pay anything for care home fees? Is my relative’s house safe from being sold to pay care costs?
These are the most common questions asked when people are faced with the harsh reality of funding the care of an elderly relative. Often the news is bad and the outlook bleak. Many people are incorrectly informed there is no option but to pay privately for the cost of care if the individual has assets exceeding the £23,250 means testing threshold. With average care home fees exceeding £800 a week the result is very high costs for the individual and assets accumulated over a lifetime, including the family home, being swallowed up to meet the cost of care.
The means testing rules apply where the individual is not in receipt of NHS funding to pay for their care. In these circumstances if they have assets exceeding £23,250 they have to pay in full. Once their capital assets go below £23,250 they have to partly contribute to the cost of their care from their capital in it falls to £14,000. Even once at the level of £14,000 contribution to care costs continue as any income the individual receives is taken to put towards the cost of the care.
However research conducted by the charity Age UK has indicated that there are presently 100,000 paying privately for the cost of their care who should not be.
The good news is there is funding available via the NHS to meet the funding for care home costs in full. This applies where the individual’s need for care is primarily a health need and it is called continuing healthcare funding.
What is therefore crucial is to ensure that where the individual’s need for care is a health need they receive the NHS continuing healthcare funding to protect their assets.
The Compass Continuing Health Care team specialise in assisting individuals in securing this funding. We can assist at every stage of the process, from the very outset where we can help in preparing representations as to an entitlement to the funding while the patient remains in hospital before a continuing healthcare assessment has taken place, to instigating the appeals procedure on the patient’s behalf where a negative decision has incorrectly denied them access to the funding. We have a high success rate of securing funding for our clients and are able to act swiftly to minimise any delays which would lead to increased care home fee costs.
If you have a relative paying for care or who is in hospital awaiting discharge to a care home don’t delay, . A member of our team will be happy to answer any queries you have about funding for care home and can advise you of your options. Our office number is 0800 008 7777. Alternatively you can complete our FREE, no obligation online assessment and a member of our team will consider your particular circumstances and contact you. Contact us now and let us to navigate you to free care.
Author: Tim Davies LLB
