Residential care due to a primary health need CCG funded

Published: 20/05/2015

Millions of people who have saved hard for a comfortable retirement fear they will no longer be able to apply for council-run schemes that allow those in care to put off selling their home until after they have died. This is because of a change in the rules related to universal deferred payments which although originally supposed to be available for all are now only accessible for those with less than £23,250 in savings and investments. Lee Baker, Head of Care Home Fees reflects on this change

“Millions of ordinary, hard-working people who have lived within their means, paid a mortgage and saved hard now believe they face an uncertain future due to these changes brought in as part of the 2014 Care Act. With residential care costs of thousands of pounds each year it won’t take many years for even those who’ve saved hardest to see their funds depleted and then to face the prospect of selling the family home to continue to pay their residential care costs. However the sad fact is that many who are agonising over these rules and the impact they might have on their future well-being don’t actually need to worry.

“That’s because if residential care is needed because of a primary health need then this care should be funded by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) regardless of earnings, savings or any other assets – such as a house, that the individual holds. There are many common conditions that can give rise to a primary health need – such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, a stroke, diabetes or epilepsy. Since many people suffering these conditions aren’t aware of this they don’t pursue assessments and so find themselves wrongly paying care home fees.

“The funding situation for care home fees is far from clear. Some people will fall outside of the scope of CCG funding because they do not have a primary health need but there are many people who haven’t secured CCG funding because they weren’t aware of it. I’d urge anyone in care or with a relative in care to carefully consider whether they are wrongly paying care home fees and if so to take action to reclaim care costs.”

Content correct at time of publication