13 July 2012
The government released its white paper earlier this week, promising to introduce a loan scheme to prevent elderly people having to sell their homes to pay for social care costs, new rights for carers, national eligibility standards for council care and further funding for joined-up services.
There still seems to be no clarity as to how Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley plans to cap the sum individuals pay to cover nursing home fees, reportedly costing £2.2billion per year to implement.
With nursing homes costing an average £26,000 per year, ministers have proposed a plan for those in need of care to ‘pay as you die’, allowing them to borrow money to fund their needs, which will then be repaid from their estate when they pass away.
The public and state currently pay £15 billion a year for care, which is expected to rise to £20 billion within five years, due to our ageing population. With an estimated eight million people over the age of 80 by 2020, adult social care is likely to become one of the major political issues facing the country.
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