1 In 5 Care Seekers Unsure Who Will Pay For Care As Costs Continue To Rise
New data has revealed the scale of uncertainty around elderly care funding, as costs continue to rise. The findings, released by reviews website carehome.co.uk, show that out of over 38,441 care seekers who made care enquiries between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024, over a fifth (21%) were not sure who would fund their care.
In terms of funding available, the data reveals a fragmented picture and regional disparities, with over half of care seekers funding their care privately,
People in England most likely in UK to fund their own care
The data reveals the highest number of self-funders in the UK live in England. Over half of people living in England (54%) said they would be funding their own care, compared to 41% in Wales, 40% in Northern Ireland and 37% in Scotland.
In a further breakdown, the data reveals that private funding dominates in the South, with 63% people from the South East paying for their own care, followed by 61% from the South West.
Local authority funding and top up fees
Comparatively, 13% of people across the UK said they would be able to access local authority funding, with Scotland seeing the highest number of state funded people at 21%.
However, with local authorities under increasing financial pressure, and care home costs soaring, more and more people will have to supplement available local authority funding with their own money.
Top up fees come into play when the chosen care home is too expensive for the council to pay in full, with the care seeker paying the difference between the total cost and the local authority funding. According to carehome.co.uk data, 9% of care seekers were paying an extra top up fee in addition to local authority funding.
Uncertainty continues for NHS continuing healthcare funding
Finally, only 5% of care seekers said they would benefit from NHS continuing healthcare funding which is not means tested and fully covers social care costs for adults with long-term and ongoing complex health needs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is not applicable in Scotland where people receive free personal care.
The assessment for NHS continuing healthcare, which seeks to determine how complex an individual’s needs are, has been criticised for being subjective and for leading to a postcode lottery for beneficiaries.
James Urquhart-Burton, Partner at Ridley and Hall Solicitors, said:
“Your chances of getting CHC Funding vary based on your location in England, which is a problem, given that the criteria is nationalised and is the same wherever in England you are.
“The problem lies in the fact that assessors will rely on their own judgment as to what constitutes needs which are intense, complex or unpredictable, and that is highly subjective.”
According to carehome.co.uk’s data, the highest amount of beneficiaries were in the North East (7%), the North West (7%) and in Wales (7%).
Sue Learner, editor of carehome.co.uk said:
“Our data shows there is an acute lack of understanding amongst the general public about how the social care system works and how to navigate it. It is incredibly concerning that a significant proportion of care seekers still don’t know who will pay for their care – will it be the council or themselves?
“With the average weekly cost of a care home for self-funders being £1,160, it is crucial people do their research and find out if they need to pay for their care. Especially considering care home fees are set to rise due to a hike in National Insurance for employers and an increase to the National Living Wage, coupled with higher energy bills and food prices.”
Care homes are able to charge self-funding residents more than state-funded residents so we will undoubtedly see the number of care homes accepting state-funded residents shrink as financial pressures force them to prioritise people who can pay for their own care.
