Cost of care in England
If you’re considering care options, cost will no doubt be at the forefront of your mind. Here’s how you can find out if you’re entitled to financial support if you live in England.
Understand the different routes you can take to seek a financial contribution to the cost of care for you or your loved ones.
When looking for care to support ourselves or our loved ones, seeing what services a care company has to offer isn’t the only key consideration. You should look at whether you’re entitled to any financial support from the government, whether that’s help from the NHS or your Local Authority. If neither of those are an option for you, you can still find a way of making it easier to pay for care.
It’s not always easy to know where you should turn to get an understanding of how you can fund your care. Our experts at Home Instead will talk you through the options you have available.
NHS funding
If you qualify for NHS funding, you’ll get your full care costs recovered. Very few people are eligible for this but there are other options.
Ask your GP for a Continuing Healthcare Checklist, which is a quick screening test to see whether you should go forward with a full assessment. This will determine whether you’re entitled to a Personal Health Budget (PHB).
A PHB gives people living with a disability or long-term health condition more choice, control and flexibility over their healthcare. You or your representative liaise with your local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to access funding to be spent on resources to support your needs, and that can include care.
Over 80,000 people in England have a PHB.
Local Authority funding
Local Authorities have a duty under the Care Act 2014 to assess all people with care and support needs, regardless of whether an individual may be self-funding or not.
Following a needs assessment, a financial assessment will be completed to establish whether you are entitled to funding for your care. Those with assets not exceeding £23,250 will qualify for funding towards care costs. You can request your funding as a Direct Payment which puts you in control of how you would like to spend it.
Self-funding care and support
If you’re not able to have your care funded by your Local Authority or the NHS, you can purchase your at-home care using your liquid assets or using any of a range of financial products to help you pay for your care, including equity release.
