Care Home Fees - What should you be paying?

The Care Home System is complex and making arrangements to fund the payment of the long term care in a residential or care home can be bewildering and confusing with various sources of funding available from the NHS and Local Authorities as well as entitlement to State benefits including Attendance Allowance and Pension Credits.

​

The choice of whether to go into a care home or to pay for care to be provided in your own home and the question of how that care is to be funded is one that can affect the whole family. It is therefore very important that everyone is aware of their legal rights and the funding options available to them.

Payment of Care Home Fees by the NHS

Many people who are resident in a Care Home are paying fees that should be met by the NHS.

​

Help is also available from the NHS for people who are being nursed at home.

​

If you have significant health care needs then you can apply for fully funded NHS Continuing Care and if you qualify, then your care fees will be paid in full without any means test, whatever your financial circumstances.

​

You can apply for a review of your care needs at any time if your health deteriorates after you go into a home and there is a right of appeal against any refusal by the NHS to provide fully-funded care.

You can ask for a refund of fees if your case has been overlooked or if you have been wrongly assessed.

​

This applies even where a resident has died and claims can be backdated for several years.

Average care home fees are in the region of £500- £700 per week so refunds can be substantial and our advice is that it is always worth checking whether or not you have a valid claim for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

We can do this for you and offer a variety of funding options by which we can help you or your family including no win no fee.

Local Authority Funding and the Family Home

If you are not eligible for fully funded NHS Continuing Care then your Local Authority will carry out a means test to see whether you need to contribute to the cost of your care.

​

You will have to pay for your care if you have Capital assets of more than £23,250.

​

This often poses a problem for people who own their own homes as the value of the property can be taken into account as a Capital asset. You may find you are told that you need to sell your home in order to pay for your fees.

​

It is important to understand however that the Local Authority cannot force you to sell your home and there may be other options open to you. In some cases, the value of the family home can be disregarded.

​

Again you should always take legal advice before taking steps to put a property on the market and again we are able to offer a variety of funding options to assist you and your family.