Care Fees and Government Fudge
Posted on: 13 Jul 2012 by James Farmer

Russell Hall, adviser for Almary Green, comments on care fees and Government fudge:

 

“After much rattling of tins within the Government coffers, an announcement was made yesterday, which made it clear that central funding of care fees proposed by Andrew Dilnot, will not be implemented. Andrew Lansley – the Health Secretary, made it clear that he was “unable to commit” to capping the costs of care for the elderly, even though he would like to. He stated that if he did go ahead and limit the amount individuals would have to pay for care, the figure could be set as high as £100,000.

 

“He cited the “immense financial pressures” for his inability to act and offer financial hope to those that need care.

 

“However, he stated that from 2015, pensioners moving into nursing homes will not be forced to sell their homes to pay for care. The sting in the tail here is that the fees charged for care will be offset against the value of the home and interest will charged. The “pay when you die” scheme would recoup the money on death.

 

“On the face of it, the fact that pensioners will not need to sell their homes to pay for care may appear to be good news. However, the “deferred payment scheme” currently provides interest-free loans to those who face having to sell their homes to pay for care. As such, the new scheme will come at a higher price than the existing one.

 

“In fairness, the availability of the “deferred payment scheme” varies significantly throughout the country. Most Local Authorities will only provide loans to those with few savings and in the past year about 8,500 have been offered.

 

“Details of the new scheme are to be negotiated between the Government and Local Authorities in the coming months and crucially the level of interest to be charged on loans is yet to be thrashed out.

 

“So what has changed? Frankly very little. Sadly, the broken care system remains.”

 

 

Tags: adviser | andrew dilnot | andrew lansley | deferred payment | fairness | financial pressures | government coffers | health secretary | interest free loans | local authorities | money | nbsp | nursing homes | payment scheme | pensioners | russell hall | sting in the tail | tins