Who is responsible for paying for care?
Contact our team of experts at Compass Continuing healthcare today to see if your relative is entitled to full NHS funding assistance for paying for care. Our office number is 0800 008 7777. Alternatively please complete our FREE online assessment and we will contact you.
Who is responsible for paying for care?
The base position is that if an individual has assets exceeding £23,250 they are liable to meet the cost of their care in full. Average nursing home costs in England and Wales exceed £800 a week, or in excess of £41,000 and can be even higher if the care required is specialist such as in an EMI home. We have encountered nursing home fees exceeding £1400 on a weekly basis. As such it is clear that paying for care is very expensive.
Additionally even when an individual’s assets have fallen below £23,250 will have to continue to contribute to their care costs from their assets until the total assets fall to £14,000. Finally even when the capital assets minimum threshold has been reached the individual will continue to have to contribute towards the cost of their care from any income they receive. The reality is that the bulk of any income will be swallowed leaving the individual with a token weekly figure for personal expenses.
The basic position regarding paying for care is however overruled where the individual’s need for care is primarily a health need. Where this applies the NHS steps in and is responsible for paying for care in full, regardless of what assets the individual has. This NHS funding is not in any way means tested. The funding is called continuing health care.
Continuing health care is not provided automatically to anyone simply because they suffer with a particular condition. Having Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease or suffering from dementia is not an automatic entitlement to the funding. Rather the individual’s needs across a broad spectrum of areas, or domains, are considered, assessed and scored. Then when all aspects of the person’s needs have been assessed a decision is made as to whether, overall, their need for care is a health need.
Due to the fact that paying for care is very expensive for the NHS, just as it is for the individual, there are increasing instances where people who ought to be entitled to the funding to pay for their care are refused it. Additionally people are incorrectly informed that the bar to satisfy for an entitled to funding is higher than it in fact is, and are dissuaded from challenging a negative decision.
If you have a relative paying for care and you believe that their need for care is a health need then you should not hesitate to contact the Compass Continuing Health Care team today for a FREE impartial, no obligation consultation. Our online assessment is available for you to complete and a member of our team will contact you. Alternatively you can contact us directly on 0800 008 7777.
We are experts at assisting clients securing continuing healthcare funding and overturning negative decisions in their favour. Do not delay, contact us today.
Author: Tim Davies LLB
