Our guide to funding your Care Home stay

It can be a difficult and emotional time when you or a family member decides to move into a care home. Often the situation can be made more difficult by the complexities involved in deciding how to finance the costs of care. Here are some simple guidance notes that we hope maybe of help.

The costs of care can be broken down into three different elements.

1. Residential care

This cost covers care provided by a Carer, such as help with dressing, personal care, eating, bathing and mobility.

2. Nursing care

This cost is associated with care provided by a Qualified Nurse.

3. Accommodation

This cost is for your room, and general living costs such as your heat, lighting, water, access to WiFi, food and dining options.

Most care providers will offer packages that cover these elements combined in a single weekly fee. However, it is also important to enquire about the costs that might not be included and the funding options available to cover any costs.

We talk more about this in our Frequently Asked Questions about funding below:

How much you pay will depend on the care home, where you live, the length of your stay, the level of care required, the size and location of you room and any other chargeable extras you decide you would like to pay for.
Extras are additional optional costs for activities outside of your primary care needs, such as hairdressing, newspapers, chiropody, trips out, etc.
Many people are eligible for some of their care home costs paid for by their local authority. This will depend on how much capital you may have (such as level of savings and/or property owned) and where you live.

If you have savings and/or property in your name and they are are over the capital threshold of £23,350, it is likely you will be deemed as being self-funded.

If you have less capital (savings and/or property) than the above, it is likely you will be eligible for Local Authority funding. To apply for this funding, you must contact the Local Authority and request a Financial Assessment.
All Local Authorities will undertake a financial assessment at your request. They will decide what level of care you need and also look at your current income and savings to determine whether you may need to make a contribution towards the cost.
This process is usually quick as long as you are able to provide evidence of your income and current assets.
Once their assessment is completed, the outcome is provided to both the potential resident and the potential care home so all parties are fully aware of the costs to be charged and any contributions due.
The amount of care you need may influence how much you will pay. This will be determined by the outcome of your assessment.
If you require intensive, or around the clock supervision, the cost of your carew ill be higher than the cost of care for somebody who is still relatively independent.
Yes, as long as the care home is registered for the type of care you need.
However, it is important to understand that the cost the Local Authority charge may not quite cover the costs of your preferred care home. If this happens, it does not mean you have to pick another care home, but you may have to pay an additional top-up contribution to cover the full cost of your preferred care home.
Either you or a 3rd party can opt to choose to do this.
When your savings fall below the upper limits of the capital thresholds set out by the Government, you are likely to qualify for financial assistance.
You should contact your local social service department as soon as your savings are approaching the limit, so they can undertake a financial assessment for you.
If you own a property solely, this will be taken into account as a capital asset.
Under the Care Act 2014, you no longer have to sell the property in order to pay for your care home fees, however you now have the option to apply for either a Property Disregard Scheme for the initial 12 weeks of your care home stay or apply for a permanent Property Deferred Payment scheme with your Local Authority.

The Property Deferred Payment scheme will enter your Local Authority into a legal agreement with you which allows them to pay for your home care fees for an indefinite period, in exchange for putting a charge on your property. You can find more information on the UK Government website.
If you own a property with your spouse and they still live in the family home, your property will be disregarded in terms of being taken into account as a capital asset.
Don’t worry, only the person who is going into the care home should be means tested. The property you are still livinging in will be ignored and your savings will be treated differently, with higher capital thresholds being applied.

However, we do encourage everybody to seek independent advice and support from their local social work team beforehand, so that you are able to make a well-informed decision before you agree to fund any care costs.
Continuing Health Care (CHC) is for care where your health care requirements are highly complex or particularly severe. Under this scheme, funding is paid for by the NHS via your Local Clinical Commissioning Group. It is non-means tested and the full cost is covered by the NHS.

Assessment for this type of funding is undertaken by qualified healthcare professioaals appointed by the NHS, and it is done in 2 stages. During the first stage, they will screen against a checklist to determine whether to conduct a full assessment. During the second stage, a team of at least 2 healthcare professionals will determine whether there is a primary health care need which can be treated outside of a hospital setting. The final decision will be based on the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of your needs.

This type of funding is subject to 3 monthly reviews and if your level of care requirement changes, then this funding may be withdrawn.
More information about this scheme can be found on the NHS website.