£35,000 cap plan for elderly care reform
This article sets out a significant proposed shake up in the adult social care agenda. It explains:
“No one should have to pay more than £35,000 towards long-term nursing care in their old age, a report into the fundamental restructuring of Britain’s social care said yesterday. Those with assets of less than £100,000 would not have to contribute towards their care, under proposals put forward by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, chaired by the economist Andrew Dilnot. However, the ambitious plans may yet be watered down by the Treasury, who fear that the increased costs could hamper efforts to reduce public sector spending or require raising taxes.”
Other proposal of the Dilnot report include:
* Insurance companies would be encouraged to offer products to cover this defined cost so people could manage the risk of care costs in the future.
* Anyone unable to afford care charges without selling their home would be allowed to defer payments until their death, at which point it would be taken out of their
estate.
* Making individuals in residential care pay towards the cost of food and accommodation to a maximum of £10,000 a year.
It seems to me that the transition into old age is becoming increasingly scary for many individuals. It is doubly challenging for people in rural area who are often required to move many miles from their home turf to receive adult social care. The package of safeguards set out in this report are, I think, to be commended on first reading. There are clearly tough choices to be made at a national Government level if
they are to be implemented effectively. Let’s hope they are, but let’s also hope through a process of stealth any additional rising costs aren’t just “passported” down the line to local authorities.