Reform Of Elderly Care ‘Should Be Priorty’

Reforming care for the elderly should be as great a political priority as the NHS most people now believe, according to a new survey. New figures forecast care costs doubling over the next 20 years to an average of £223,476 for a four-year stay in a home.
A poll for the Resolution Foundation, which campaigns on behalf of low earners, suggests almost three quarters of people view elderly care as equal to or more important than improving hospitals, with an even larger proportion regarding the issue as just as crucial as improving dental services or extending GP opening hours.

The foundation’s report, Lost: low earners and the elderly care market, finds that low earners in particular are squeezed by the current system, as they become caught in a means-testing trap.

This group – those on modest incomes but mainly independent of state support – are too “rich” to qualify automatically for free state care and too poor to be able to absorb care costs, the study says.

It finds that low earners’ primary source of wealth is their home, with few savings, yet 72% have levels of wealth that can exclude them from free care – available to those with assets of under £21,500.

Low earners quizzed for the report said they found the care system complex, inaccessible and unfair, yet were seeking a fair deal rather than handouts: they were more likely than average to believe that the individual should be making a contribution to care costs.

The report comes amid growing concern at the prospect of spiralling costs of elder care, as the UK’s population ages. The government has promised a green paper on the issue later this year, and is facing pressure to introduce fundamental reforms to an ailing and outdated system.

A separate study released yesterday by Saga predicts a doubling of the cost of care home fees in 20 years, based on 2.5% inflation and care home fees increasing at 3.5% annually.

“Few people really understand the cost of care, yet it could be the biggest financial burden many of us will ever face”, the organisation said.

At present, 17% of people aged 85 and over are in long term care. With life expectancy increasing, a male aged 60 today is expected to live for a further 26 years and a female another 29 years on average.

Annie Stevenson of Help the Aged said: “Care home costs have escalated over recent years, and look set to reach dangerous new heights.

“These figures must act as a stark warning: the ‘affordability gap’ in care funding is rapidly turning into a gulf.”

She added: “It’s vital that the government work to resolve the crisis in funding. Failure to act now means storing up problems for the future, with more people denied the care they need because of financial constraints.

“Introducing a fair and sustainable funding settlement for adult social care is crucial to transforming our ailing care system into one that is personalised, easy to understand and accessible.”