More people are choosing to remain in the comfort of their own home and seek the services of quality home care.
It is often difficult to know where to start finding ways to fund your care, which is why we have put- together some of the key ways in which you can facilitate the essential funding of your care.
Those with assets under £23,250 receive some contribution towards their care costs from the local authority, but they can still be asked to pay a substantial amount. The basic rule is that care charges should not reduce your remaining income to less than one and a quarter times the Pension Credit basic Guarantee Credit. For a single person this currently gives a protected weekly income of
£171.69 (2012-13).
Assets of under £14,250 are ignored by the means test, but between £14,250 and
£23,250 they are counted as providing additional income of
£1 per week for each £250 held.
Direct payments
Direct payments from social services are payments made to you or the person you're looking after so that you can buy care services for yourself.
Direct payments aim to give you more flexibility in how your services are provided. By giving you money instead of social care services, you have greater choice and control over your life, and are able to make your own decisions about how your care is delivered.
How to get direct payments
The decision to award direct payments takes place after an assessment by social services. This could be:
• A community care assessment for the person you're looking after
• An assessment for a child under the Children Act or
• Your own carer's assessment
If an assessment determines that services will be provided, you or the person you're looking after have a right to ask for direct payments instead of having the service arranged by social services.
Choosing direct payments
In most cases, social services must offer you or the person you're looking after direct payments as an option. You can find more information about this below in the section who can have direct payments?
If someone isn't able to manage their own direct payments, it's possible for another person to manage the direct payments on their behalf. This is explained below in the section on managing direct payments for someone else.
The choice of direct payments is voluntary. Neither you nor the person you're looking after can be forced to have direct payments. If you decide to have direct payments, you can change your mind about this at any time. If you no longer want direct payments, contact your local social services and ask them to arrange services instead.
It is possible to try direct payments, ask social services for a direct payment for some of your support while you continue to get your other support directly from social services.
NHS Continuing Care
NHS continuing care is a package of care arranged and funded solely by the NHS. It can be provided to people in their own homes. It should be provided to people whose health needs are such that they are totally the responsibility of the NHS. NHS continuing care is free to people who qualify under guidelines set by their local Strategic Health Authority (Regional Health Board in Scotland or Local Health Board in Wales) and/or social services.
If NHS continuing care is provided in an individual's own home, the NHS will meet the full cost of the service user's personal health needs including equipment and adaptations to the home and may cover your living and accommodation costs. The NHS does not usually meet the cost of accommodation, food or other household bills. Applications for funding should be made as early as possible. For more information contact your local PCT, or NHS Direct or 111 who will be able to give you further details.
Self-Directed Support/ Individualised Budgets
Self-directed support is designed to help people take control of their own social care budgets, manage their own support and choose the services that suit them best using the money from different areas more flexibly. The person is at the centre of the planning process as they are best placed to understand their own needs.
People who have been assessed as eligible to receive community care services under the Government Fair Access to Care Services Guidelines [FACS], are eligible for public funding and who are willing and agreeable to accessing all the money to which they are entitled.
People who have support-needs themselves or someone on their behalf can contact Adult Social Care to ask for an initial assessment, for more information on Self-directed Support/Individualised Budgets contact your local Social Services Department or the Department of Health telephone number: 020 7210 4850, website www.doh.gov.uk
Independent Living Fund
The Independent Living Fund (ILF) is a discretionary scheme, financed by the government, to help fund care packages for people with severe disabilities living in the community, rather than residential care.
The scheme has now closed to new applications. People already getting ILF funding will continue to get it until 2015. The government has not committed to funding the ILF in its current form after that. The government plans to consult people on how people who currently get ILF funding should be supported in future.
The scheme works with local authorities in areas where the local authority provides, or intends to provide, packages of care. The eligibility criteria and application process are outlined below for those currently receiving ILF funding.
For more information go to Gov.uk - Independent Living Fund.
Financial assessment
A means-tested financial assessment is carried out to determine whether the person you're looking after has to make a contribution. In this assessment, half the care component of the Disability Living Allowance is taken into account; earnings are disregarded and their capital must be less than £23,000. This includes any capital their partner has, but doesn't include the value of the property they live in.
If they receive Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, the severe disability premium is taken into account as part of their income.
How the ILF can help
The ILF can pay up to £475 per week on top of the funding from social services and any contribution that has to be made by the person you're looking after. Challenging a decision
If the person you're looking after isn't satisfied with social services' decision about their care package, they can use the social services statutory complaints system. If they want to dispute a decision made by the ILF, they can ask for a review of the decision by phoning the complaints and review manager on 0845 601 8815 or sending an email to: Complaints.Review@ilf.org.uk.
Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance, sometimes referred to as AA, is a tax-free benefit for people aged 65 or over who need help with personal care because they are physically or mentally disabled.
You may get Attendance Allowance if:
• You have a physical or mental disability, or both
• Your disability is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself
• You are aged 65 or over when you claim If you are under age 65, you may be able to get Disability Living Allowance.
Attendance Allowance is not usually affected by any savings or income you may have.
For more information contact the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 882200 or apply online at www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice or go to www.direct.gov.uk
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helps with some of the extra costs caused by long-term ill health or a disability if you’re aged 16 to 64.You could get between £21 to £134.40 a week to help with the extra costs caused by your condition. How much you get is not based on your condition, but how your condition affects you.
You’ll need an assessment to work out the level of help you get. Your award will be regularly reassessed to make sure you’re getting the right support.
If you get Disability Living Allowance
PIP started to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 from 8 April 2013.
Equity Release
Meeting the cost of care in later life is a growing issue for many of us. As life expectancy continues to increase, most of us can expect to need some sort of care at some point in our later years. Live-in care is a popular option as it enables a person to receive care in the comfort of their own home – but what happens if you don’t have all of the funds available to afford it? There is an option which can enable you to use the value of your house to pay for you, or your loved ones, care fees – without having to sell your home.
Immediate needs annuity
There are a number of concerns that we and our families may have when faced with the issue of paying for care, for what is usually an unknown length of time. A major concern may be that the money might run out, so you will no longer be able to have the care provider or type of care (such as care in your own home), that you prefer. For many, the fact that the value within the estate is being depleted is also a considerable concern.
What does an Immediate Needs Annuity do?
Immediate Needs Annuities provide a guaranteed regular income designed to meet the cost of care. You pay a one-off lump sum to purchase the plan.
The cost of the plan is determined by a number of factors:
• The required monthly payment you require
• Your gender, your age and your health
• Your medical history
An immediate care plan pays a regular tax-free income to your registered care provider for the rest of your life. There is no reliance on investment performance to achieve this.
As each plan is tailored around your individual care needs and priorities, there is no ‘fixed price’ for a care plan. Your medical history and current health are taken into account to arrive at a purchase price.
What if I die soon after taking out a plan?
With some plans you can build in protection for the first six months of taking out a plan, where a proportion of the purchase price (less any income already paid) will be returned to your estate/beneficiaries should you pass away.
If you wish to protect some of the capital used to purchase the plan for a longer period then you can select
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney is the only way to ensure important decisions are made on your behalf by someone you trust, should you ever be unable to do so. It gives the people you trust full control over decisions regarding your finances and your health and welfare, acting in your best interests at a time when you are unable to make these decisions for yourself.
Putting these measures in place now can provide peace of mind and protection for you and your family in the future.
There are two types of LPA:
Health and Welfare LPA
This allows you to plan ahead by choosing one or more people to make decisions on your behalf regarding your personal healthcare and welfare. You can decide to give them the power to make decisions about any or all of your health and welfare matters. This could involve some significant decisions, such as giving or refusing consent to particular types of health care, including medical treatment decisions.
The Property and Financial Affairs LPA
This allows you to plan ahead by choosing one or more people to make decisions on your behalf regarding your property and financial affairs. With this type of LPA you can choose those you trust most to manage your finances and property whilst you still have capacity as well as when you lack capacity. For example, it may be easier for you to give someone the power to carry out tasks such as paying your bills or collecting your benefits or other income.
This might be easier for lots of reasons: you might find it difficult to get about or to talk on the telephone, or you might be out of the country for long periods of time. You can decide to give your Attorney(s) the power to make decisions about any or all of your property and financial affairs matters such as:
• Paying your bills
• Collecting your benefits
• Selling your house
• Drawing down further funds from an equity release plan
Other options for care fees payment
The plan described on this page is designed to meet the immediate costs of care and the features available may vary depending on the plan provider. Other options are also available to help with meeting the immediate and long-term costs of care.
Private Clients
We understand that the cost of care can be a major concern for our clients and their families. Chiltern Home Care always work with clients and their next-of-kin to make sure that the package of care is affordable, whilst still delivering everything that is needed to the highest standards. We offer flexible invoicing options, and you can receive your invoices weekly, fort- nightly or monthly to suit. Payment can be made by cheque or bank transfer for convenience.
For a fee schedule, please contact Office@chilternhomecare.com