Care Fees and Self-Funding
It is agreed that he cannot cope alone in his home any more and that full-time nursing care is the best solution.
You may feel some relief that his needs are going to be met and that he is in the best place to secure the kind of personal care that you wish for him.
So far so good.
But what of the cost of all of this? The good news is that if he is in need of specific nursing care in the residential home, that cost is borne by the NHS as part of his on-going treatment.
Besides this, however, will come the cost of the registered care home.
It is the law that local authorities should do a financial assessment of every person in residential care to determine the amount it is reasonable for them to contribute to their own care.
Your father owns his own home and will therefore be regarded as a 'self-funder' to a certain extent.
It may be that specific social security benefits to help with the cost of care home fees are available to him, but tough decisions about the possible sale of his home might need to be made.
What many do not realise is that since the NHS is paying up front and direct to the care home for the nursing being provided, residents who are self-funding are entitled to a reduction on the overall fees that they pay to the home.
For too many this gets overlooked and while some homes do pay a rebate at a later date, this does not always seem to happen as it should, meaning the home is being paid twice for some aspects of the care provided.
Self-funders who have been assessed for a registered nursing care contribution should be asking for either a refund from their care home or at least a rebate later on.
If neither of these is forthcoming, it is best to ask for a breakdown of the nursing and care costs from the home to see what you should actually be paying.
You may feel some relief that his needs are going to be met and that he is in the best place to secure the kind of personal care that you wish for him.
So far so good.
But what of the cost of all of this? The good news is that if he is in need of specific nursing care in the residential home, that cost is borne by the NHS as part of his on-going treatment.
Besides this, however, will come the cost of the registered care home.
It is the law that local authorities should do a financial assessment of every person in residential care to determine the amount it is reasonable for them to contribute to their own care.
Your father owns his own home and will therefore be regarded as a 'self-funder' to a certain extent.
It may be that specific social security benefits to help with the cost of care home fees are available to him, but tough decisions about the possible sale of his home might need to be made.
What many do not realise is that since the NHS is paying up front and direct to the care home for the nursing being provided, residents who are self-funding are entitled to a reduction on the overall fees that they pay to the home.
For too many this gets overlooked and while some homes do pay a rebate at a later date, this does not always seem to happen as it should, meaning the home is being paid twice for some aspects of the care provided.
Self-funders who have been assessed for a registered nursing care contribution should be asking for either a refund from their care home or at least a rebate later on.
If neither of these is forthcoming, it is best to ask for a breakdown of the nursing and care costs from the home to see what you should actually be paying.
