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The government could be considering a change in the way care for the elderly in England is paid for, with a possible limit on how much families have to pay before they receive assistance.

On Thursday Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow suggested some of the funding should come from means-testing the winter fuel allowance, although David Cameron said the benefit would not be touched.

Chris Buckler reports.

But he added: “I think this is one of the legacy issues this coalition
can be seen to have resolved during its lifetime.

“I believe during this coming year the Government will finally face up to
its responsibilities and take action and will, as a result of that,
introduce clauses to implement the Dilnot proposals.”

Mr Burstow said in an age of austerity funds should be targeted at those most
in need.

“We’re talking, for example, of pensioners, 100,000 in this country, who
still have incomes over £100,000 a year.

“Can it be right, when we’re taking away universal benefits such as child
benefit to continue to pay a winter fuel allowance to that group of people,
many of whom themselves say they don’t use it for winter fuel payments, they
say they use it for other things?”

Mr Burstow, who was in charge of care policy until last year’s reshuffle, said
in a report for the CentreForum think tank that the Dilnot recommendations
were “the only viable option”.

“Treasury officials have tried and failed to knock them down or come up
with an alternative and their silence on the matter is deafening,” he
added. “But what the Treasury fails to see is that reforming care
financing would be a huge public health intervention – saving far more money
in the long term by encouraging people to engage with the need to plan for
the future.”

At present, anyone with assets, including their own home, valued at more than
£23,500 gets no state support with their care in old age.

Eighteen months ago a commission chaired by Mr Dilnot, an Oxford economist,
recommended raising that threshold to £100,000 and introducing a lifetime
cap on care bills.

Mr Burstow says the money could be found by limiting winter fuel payments to
pensioners who qualify for pension credit.

That would mean that three quarters of those who receive the payments – worth
up to £300 – would no longer do so, saving the Treasury an estimated
£1.5billion a year.

He also proposes abolishing relief on capital gains tax at death, meaning that
those who inherit a second home or valuable item would pay extra tax.

Editor’s note: The following analysis comes from a First Command Financial Behaviors Index release.

At a time when men and women in uniform are dealing with the twin uncertainties of a global economic turmoil and defense downsizing, many military households are facing an extra financial challenge: caring for an elderly family member.

The First Command Financial Behaviors Index reveals that 36 percent of middle-class military families (senior NCOs and commissioned officers in pay grades E-6 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) either care for or anticipate caring for a parent or other elderly family member. This compares to just 22 percent of the general population of middle-class families.

The Index reveals that military families envision elderly care in a variety of forms. Many survey respondents are focused on in-home care (44 percent in their own home and 40 percent in the home of the elderly family member). The Index indicates that military families also recognize the need to pay for professional assistance, including:

• Home care services (30 percent)
• Health care services (11 percent)
• Nursing home care (10 percent)

Notably, the prospect of providing elderly care is shaking the long-term financial confidence of these current and future caregivers. The Index reveals 31 percent are not confident in their ability to retire comfortably. (Retirement confidence is stronger among the rest of middle-class servicemembers; just 22 percent say they are not confident.)

This crisis in confidence comes at a time when many military families appear ill-equipped to deal with the financial demands of elderly care. Among those already caring for an aged relative, more than half say the cost of care is more than they expected. The Index reveals that just 16 percent of them have done any specific financial planning related to the cost of this care. And among this group, only one in four have turned to a financial advisor for help.

“As the  ranks of older Americans continue to swell, many military families are not prepared for the economic reality of ensuring elderly care for their own family members,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command. “These findings underscore the importance of providing meaningful financial planning support to our men and women in uniform as they prepare for the future care of their loved ones.”

The Government can no longer turn a blind eye to “festering” problems in the aged care sector following more disturbing revelations of elderly rest home residents being treated poorly, Labour’s Aged Care spokesperson Kris Faafoi says.

“The findings of a report into Rangiora’s Wiltshire Lifecare and Hospital found many residents were suffering dehydration, unmanaged weight loss and lacked proper levels of basic care.

“Despite the Government’s assurances that its auditing and monitoring system is working, there’s still far too many similar cases being reported. It’s not good enough.

“Human Rights Commissioner Judy McGregor called time on this earlier in the year, highlighting on-going problems with inadequate staffing levels in our rest homes and the continued undervaluing of the sector.

“While the Canterbury District Health Board is moving to lift the standard of care at Wiltshire, the Ministry of Health needs to ensure the systemic issues that allowed this situation to fester are addressed.

“That includes introducing minimum staffing levels, more robust and regular monitoring of care facilities and better reporting of audits.

“Labour campaigned on minimum staffing levels for nurses and caregivers at all residential care facilities. We will continue to call for adequate staffing while horror stories continue to make the headlines.

“Our elderly population is set to skyrocket over the next 14 years, hence one of the biggest challenges New Zealand faces right now is ensuring it can provide a level of care we would all expect and that older New Zealanders deserve.

“We can’t wait until tomorrow to start planning for that and we can’t wait until tomorrow to see today’s rest home residents better looked after,” Kris Faafoi said.