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Part 5: People with a high level of income or capital over the upper capital limit
- Am I eligible for payments for personal and nursing care?
- Involving the social work service in arranging your care
- Paying for your care
I can pay the fees of a care home myself. Do I still need to go to the social work service?
Some people can afford to pay their care home fees themselves without financial assistance from their local authority.
However, if you wish to take advantage of payments for nursing or personal care, your needs
must first be assessed by the social work service.
Am I eligible for payments for personal and nursing care?
If you have sufficient funds to pay for your own care, the social work service must assess your need for personal and nursing care before you are entitled to a contribution towards that care.
If you are assessed as needing personal or nursing care, the social work service will tell you what arrangements are available to allow you to access appropriate payments.
If you are aged 65 or over, you will be entitled to a flat-rate, weekly payment of £153 for personal care and a further £69 if you also require nursing care.
If you are under 65 and have been assessed as needing nursing care, you will be entitled to a weekly payment of £69 but will not be eligible for payments for personal care.
The social work service will make these payments to your care home on your behalf. You will not receive the payments yourself.
If you decide to receive the £153 towards your personal care, you will no longer be eligible to receive attendance allowance or the care component of disability living allowance. If you have been receiving either of these benefits and you decide to receive the £153, you must inform the Department for Work and Pensions on 08457 123 456.
What if I don't want to involve the social work service?
If you can afford the care home fees without help from the local authority, and do not wish to take advantage of nursing care or personal care payments, you can make your own arrangements without involving the social work service at all. There are many private and voluntary care homes which will be happy to discuss details directly with you. The Care Commission can supply you with a list of registered care homes. The National Care Standards can help you decide which home to choose.
However, before making any arrangements, you will want to estimate how long your money will last.
You should check with the social work service before entering a home about what will happen if your money runs out.
If I can pay, will the social work service still help me find somewhere?
If you want help to arrange a place for yourself in a care home, the social work service must still help you. If all you want is information about homes, the social work service or the NHS Board will help you to find this information.
If you wish, you have the right to ask the social work service to carry out an assessment to see whether a care home really is the best option for your own care needs. If you want the social work service to arrange a care home place for you, it will always carry out an assessment first. The social work service may suggest that a different form of care is more suited to your needs. This might include help in your own home, or attendance at a day-care centre.
If the assessment shows that you do need to move into a care home, the social work service may suggest you deal directly with a home, but it will make the arrangements for you if that is what you want.
However, if the assessment shows that you do not need to move into a care home, but you are still considering this option, you must ensure that you can continue to pay for yourself for a considerable period, otherwise you may have to move out. In these circumstances you will not be eligible for payments towards any of the costs of your nursing or personal care if you decide to move into a care home.
It is up to you whether you ask the social work service to assist you in making the arrangements. If it does, all the information in the earlier parts of this booklet about choosing a home and paying the fees will apply to you.
What if I can afford the fees once I have sold my house, but need help in the meantime?
Some private and voluntary care homes may agree to charge you a reduced fee to start with until you sell your house.
You can also ask your social work service for help. It will carry out an assessment and if that shows that you need a place in a care home, it will be able to arrange one. In that case all the information in the earlier parts of this leaflet about choosing a home and paying the fees will apply to you. The 12-week property disregard and deferred payments are likely to be particularly relevant to you. ( See part 4.)
If I make my own arrangements, what happens if my money runs out?
When your capital is at the upper capital limit or below, the social work service may be able to help you fund your care home place, but this depends on:
- whether the care home is located within your own or another local authority's boundary;
- the social work service's assessment confirming that you need to be in a care home;
- how much the fees are; and
- whether the home is suitable for you (see 'What can I choose?', in part 3).
If the care home is located within another local authority's boundary, you will need to apply to that local authority's social work service for financial assistance if your money runs out. If the care home is located within your present local authority's area, then you will apply to your local social work service should you require financial help.
The social work service may not be able to help you with paying the full fees of the home that you are in but only up to the amount that it would normally pay for the type of care you have been assessed as needing.
If you think your money might run out, you may want to talk to your social work service before moving into a home. If you are likely to run out of money, the social work service may suggest that it makes the arrangement with the home in the first place, provided that an assessment shows that you need to move into a care home. That way, your place will be guaranteed even if you can no longer afford to pay the full fees.
If the social work service does make the arrangements for you, all the information in the earlier parts of this leaflet about choosing a home and paying the fees will apply to you.
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