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UK Expands Long Term Care Availability

Mon, 01/24/2000 - 1:00am — Karen Stevenson
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Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is in the process of greatly expanding and revamping long term care services. The changes are being made in response to recommendations made by The Royal Commission on Long Term Care. Under the new NHS Plan the government will make new investments in intermediate care and associated services amounting to £900 million a year by 2003/2004 to promote independence, provide more choice for older people and deliver higher quality care. On top of this they will be targeting additional resources, for £360 million a year by 2003/2004, to tackle the anomalies and inequities of the present funding system for long term care. Many of these changes will become effective in April of 2001.

Under the new rules, NHS nursing care will be free in all settings. This change will benefit around 35,000 people at any time who could save up to around £5,000 for a year's stay in a nursing home.

Requirements for people to sell their homes to qualify for care will be softened. For the first three months from admission to residential care, the value of the resident's home will be disregarded from the means test to allow people time to decide whether it will be necessary to sell the property to pay care costs. This change will benefit around 30,000 people each year, who will save up to £2,000- £2,500 during the first three months of their stay. The NHS is still reviewing a suggestion that local councils extend loans to low income persons who need care so that they don't have to sell their homes during their lifetimes.

New statutory guidance will be issued to reduce the variation in the amounts people are asked to pay for help at home, which now vary greatly from one local council to another -- a system critics call the "postcode lottery". The means test for getting assistance from local councils will be increased from £16,000 to £18,000, which will benefit around 20,000 people in residential care homes and nursing homes.
Resources behind two social security benefits, the Preserved Rights to higher levels of Income Support and the Residential Allowance, will be transferred to local councils to make available additional resources to support the care costs of pre-1993 residents whose income support rates have fallen short of their care home fees.

The Government will investigate the regulation of long term care insurance after a Treasury led committee has reported on how the financial services industry can reassure its customers about the quality and reliability of the products available for financing long term care.
The report of the Royal Commission recommended that personal care, including nursing care and some social care tasks such as help with bathing, should be funded from general taxation, subject to an assessment of need. The NHS responded that three quarters of those in residential or nursing care already get some or all of their personal care costs met from public funds through local councils, and that making personal care free for everyone would consume most of the additional resources they plan to make available for older people through the NHS Plan without necessarily improving services. Therefore, this recommendation will not be followed.

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is in the process of greatly expanding and revamping long term care services. The changes are being made in response to recommendations made by The Royal Commission on Long Term Care. Under the new NHS Plan the government will make new investments in intermediate care and associated services amounting to £900 million a year by 2003/2004 to promote independence, provide more choice for older people and deliver higher quality care. On top of this they will be targeting additional resources, for £360 million a year by 2003/2004, to tackle the anomalies and inequities of the present funding system for long term care. Many of these changes will become effective in April of 2001.

Under the new rules, NHS nursing care will be free in all settings. This change will benefit around 35,000 people at any time who could save up to around £5,000 for a year's stay in a nursing home.

Requirements for people to sell their homes to qualify for care will be softened. For the first three months from admission to residential care, the value of the resident's home will be disregarded from the means test to allow people time to decide whether it will be necessary to sell the property to pay care costs. This change will benefit around 30,000 people each year, who will save up to £2,000- £2,500 during the first three months of their stay. The NHS is still reviewing a suggestion that local councils extend loans to low income persons who need care so that they don't have to sell their homes during their lifetimes.

New statutory guidance will be issued to reduce the variation in the amounts people are asked to pay for help at home, which now vary greatly from one local council to another -- a system critics call the "postcode lottery". The means test for getting assistance from local councils will be increased from £16,000 to £18,000, which will benefit around 20,000 people in residential care homes and nursing homes.
Resources behind two social security benefits, the Preserved Rights to higher levels of Income Support and the Residential Allowance, will be transferred to local councils to make available additional resources to support the care costs of pre-1993 residents whose income support rates have fallen short of their care home fees.

The Government will investigate the regulation of long term care insurance after a Treasury led committee has reported on how the financial services industry can reassure its customers about the quality and reliability of the products available for financing long term care.
The report of the Royal Commission recommended that personal care, including nursing care and some social care tasks such as help with bathing, should be funded from general taxation, subject to an assessment of need. The NHS responded that three quarters of those in residential or nursing care already get some or all of their personal care costs met from public funds through local councils, and that making personal care free for everyone would consume most of the additional resources they plan to make available for older people through the NHS Plan without necessarily improving services. Therefore, this recommendation will not be followed.