Yesterday the government announced changes to the long term strategy for paying for care. Whilst it is exceptionally positive that a plan is in place, it is crucial to take away a number of key points.
First, the proposed cap of paying £86,000 for care is not immediate. As a minimum, the earliest time frame for the cap even commencing is over two years away, starting as a minimum in October 2024. As such, it is crucial that you address care cost issues today as any alternative solution linked to a cap on care is quite literally years away.
Secondly, the cost cap on care is completely unrelated and separate to Continuing Healthcare Funding. If an individual has primary heath needs, then the cost of their care in full will be met by the NHS. This is separate to any care cap.
If your relative has a primary health need and suffers from issues such as dementia, parkinsons or alzheimers you should contact our team for a free, no obligation and confidential assessment.
Why the cap on care costs is not all it seems
Finally and crucially, the proposed cap on care will only cover care costs. This point has been explained by the bbc here (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58442991)
What this means in simple terms is that only the care element of any money paid for residential or nursing care will count towards the total of £86,000 cap. So in real terms if someone is paying £860 a week for residential care, it could be that £460 of this amount is for their care. This means that after 100 weeks in care and having spent £86,000 they will in fact have only accumulated £46,000 towards the care cost cap!
Additionally even when they eventually reach the £86,000 care cost limit, they will continue to be required to pay the balance that relates to their non care needs.
The cap on care is therefore not all it appears.
As such the fundamental point is that if your relative is paying for care and has a primary health need, they should contact our expert team today where we can establish if they are entitled to Continuing Healthcare Funding provided by the NHS. This is available immediately.
The proposed cap on care costs is at least over two years away and will not benefit anyone in the interim. If your relative is paying for care and has complex health issues contact us today to discuss your options.
The video below also explains the process in further detail:
Author: Tim Davies LLB
