Paying for Care

Paying for care for the future  is becoming a hot  political issue both nationally and locally.  Warwickshire County Council  (WCC) have an ongoing consultation on the increase in care fees with individuals making greater and, they say,  more equitable contributions to their  community care costs.  Care home fees are not under scrutiny at the moment but no doubt will soon be targetted for "equity" as well.

It's an issue which a baby boomer like myself has not wanted to think about but it's all too apparent after attending one of the WCC consultation meetings that for future generations paying for your community care services is going to be the norm. And we are going to have to get used to it!   I remember when charges were first made for meals-on-wheels -  my elderly parents were outraged -  but it's accepted now that there is no such thing as a free lunch even when you are old and disabled. 

The levels of charges are going to be a shocker for many people too.  WCC is intending on raising the payment for homecare from £9.66 per hour (July 2010)  to £16.95 per hour next year (April 2011). Although the charges are means tested the increases are going to hit a lot of those "just managing"  and they may be tempted to do without the assistance they need to pay for the food or warmth they can't live without.
Day care, which is a lifeline to many carers offering a few precious hours of free time are going to particularly badly hit with increases from £5.50per day to £25-103 per day.  No doubt the increases reflect the true cost of care but what will be the cost to WCC when carers can't cope or fall ill through lack of respite?  The cost then is going to be a lot higher.  And with spiralling costs and subsequent falling attendances at day centres, this may be just the end of day centres as we know them. A great loss of a vital part of community care.

There may be a silver lining in all of this though.  More people may be encouraged to take up direct payments which puts them in control of how and when they receive care and who provides it.  SureCare for example is very competitive in the hourly cost of home care. And we provide a personalised, flexible service, giving full value for money.  We also offer individualise day care at home services which may be more suited to the client who does not enjoy traditional daycare.

Insurance companies are also responding to the concerns about future care and developing "annuties" and other products which will help pay for care for the future. They are worth considering if paying for care in the future is something you are thinking about.  More information on the website at http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/