Care home fees

Pollycat

Bogof_OAP said:

Thanks for the link, most interesting.  Still seems a bit odd that despite e.g. the OP's surcharge of £75 a week meaning someone with the permitted £23,500 of savings could pay their own top-up for six years (obviously assuming no other expenses, which is unrealistic).

How awful to be in a nice home and get moved to a grotty one despite being happy to pay the difference yourself  .

I don't know how councils work out part funded care fees (savings of between £23,500 and £14,250) as my Dad was self funding for the very short time he was in a care home and my Mum is fully funded.

Once your savings drop below £14,250 (I think that's the right amount) the council pays for your care (they take your income - state pension,occupational pension etc towards the fees) and you are allowed a personal expenses account of around £25.00 per week.

It's a faff when state pensions and maybe other pensions increase and the care home fees increase and the whole thing has to be recalculated. 

Mojisola said:

I had a bit of a fight with the council about this.  Dad was on a deferred payment scheme while I sold his house but had enough capital to pay the top-up fees until the sale went through.

The council tried to get me to sign up for paying the extra fees on the basis that he wasn't allowed to.  It took quite a bit of effort to convince them that he was actually self-funding (or would be as soon as the money from his house was available) and so could pay from his own money.

I'm not surprised.

'deferred payment scheme' is mentioned in the Which? article.

sheramber

the LA  will have a maximum amount they will  pay for care home fees.

It may be that previously this amount covered the care home fees but the care home fees have gone up more than the LA fees funded amount so there is now a shortfall. All councils are strapped for funds nowadays.

I did read somewhere that that LA fees amount must cover the fees due of at least one care home in the area.

The fact that the social worker hinted about moving would indicate that there is a least one care home which would fall into that category.

if you want to stay in a specific home that costs more than the LA are willing to pay the LA may be able to negotiate a reduction on the fees such as a cheaper room.

if that is not possible and no top up is paid then  that is when a move to a cheaper home  comes into play.

elsien

It’s not unusual in these situations for the care home and the LA to negotiate a compromise over the top up level. That is worth asking about. 
Plus care home places (in my area at least) are fewer and further between. Has she had a recent care needs assessment? If not, insist on having one completed. Then if there is nowhere else cheaper that is able to meet her assessed needs then the LA has no option but to pay the difference. The third party top up is voluntary and there is no obligation on anyone else to pay it for her. 

Bogof_OAP

Another aspect of this is that I have heard that the fees for those self-funding are increased to cover the shortfall of those who are council funded, which doesn't seem very fair.

perfect10

Bogof_OAP said:

Another aspect of this is that I have heard that the fees for those self-funding are increased to cover the shortfall of those who are council funded, which doesn't seem very fair.

You are right, when self funding she paid over £1,000 a week, but when the LA paid I think the maximum was under £600! 

All rooms in the home are exactly the same so the extra £400 gets you nothing more!

perfect10

elsien said:

It’s not unusual in these situations for the care home and the LA to negotiate a compromise over the top up level. That is worth asking about. 
Plus care home places (in my area at least) are fewer and further between. Has she had a recent care needs assessment? If not, insist on having one completed. Then if there is nowhere else cheaper that is able to meet her assessed needs then the LA has no option but to pay the difference. The third party top up is voluntary and there is no obligation on anyone else to pay it for her. 

A care needs assessment has just taken place, it has to be done as part of any financial assessment. There are other care homes in the area that would now possibly be cheaper, they have all put their prices up now and I had heard that some now require a top up of £250 that didn’t previously require a top up so maybe the £75 top up will be ok for funding? 

I have spoken to the manager of the care home who told me that she only has about 4 residents that are now self funded and rest are LA funded. I am sure they can’t all be topped up by families so it’s another point to argue if they want to move my mum. Just so frustrating the length of time it all takes!