Fair Deal Scheme — Know About The Nursing Home Care Costs
Summary — The Fair Deal Scheme was created to support and safeguard vulnerable older citizens. The fair deal nursing home cost care ensures equitable access to nursing homes based on their capacity to pay.
If you are looking for a nursing home support scheme, then the Fair Deal scheme is definitely most recommended. This scheme offers financial support for those who require long-term nursing home care. As a society, people are getting older and it’s more than important to ensure they live longer and healthier lives. As per data, there are more than 700,000 citizens above the age of 66 residing in Ireland and by the year 2050, there ought to be 1.8 million. Caring for senior citizens is definitely a top priority and right at the top of the list is the financial stress that comes along with nursing home care. While many talk about the nursing home support scheme for the elderly, during these twilight years most are unaware of the Fair Deal Scheme. When it comes to paying a fair deal for nursing home cost care here are a few things that are important to note:
- The aging citizen can be a pensioner living in a mortgage-free home and might also be in a healthy financial position to pay for in-house nursing care without the need for help from the State if at all they become incapacitated.
- At the next level are the older adults who do not own a house, live on the state pension and have children to attend to them financially and physically outside the state pension.
- Lastly, some elderly people require nursing home care for numerous reasons and understand that living in a mortgage-free house is impractical. These senior citizens can either sell off the house to pay the cost of the nursing home or take up the nursing home support scheme — which is fairly uncomplicated.
The Fair Deal Scheme
On the 1st of July 2009, this scheme was brought into law and introduced later on the 27th of October, the same year under the Nursing Home Support Act or Fair Deal Act for providing financial support to elderly people who require nursing home care for the long haul.
- First of all, you need to apply for the Care Needs Assessment. This assessment helps to identify if you at all require any kind of long-term nursing home care, in other words, you will be assessed whether you can be supported for continuing to live at home or if long-term nursing home care is a better choice.
- The second stage is a formal application for the fair deal scheme. The fair deal nursing home cost care depends on your location, level of dependency (if you or any of your loved ones is completely incapacitated) and the standard of the nursing home selected (for example, the purpose-built quality houses including single en-suite rooms have a higher cost fee than others).
- The income and assets of the elderly person will be subjected to a financial assessment to ensure what will be the contribution to the care, while the balance amount will be paid by the State. One is asked to contribute:
- 80% of the total income
- 7.5% of the valuation of the assets per annum ( 5% if the application for Fair Deal Scheme was made before 25th of July 2013)
4. Nevertheless, the first €36,000 of the assets won’t be calculated and for a couple €72,000 won’t be calculated in the financial assessment system. If your assets include land and property, then 7.5% of the contribution of such assets might be deferred and paid to revenue after the demise and this is known as Nursing Home Loan.
5. For the first 3 years of your time in nursing home care, the principal residence won’t be included and this is well-known as 22.5% or more commonly as the ‘three-year cap’. This also means you will be required to pay 7.5% as a contribution depending on your principal residence for a period of three years at the maximum regardless of the length of time spent in nursing home care.
6. After approval of the Fair Deal Scheme, one will get a list of nursing homes that are connected with the nursing home support scheme. This list comprises public nursing homes where you pay your contribution to the HSE voluntary nursing homes. There are also approved private nursing homes that require you to pay your contribution directly to the nursing home. Afterwards, the HSE will pay the remaining balance of the fair deal nursing home cost care to the private nursing home.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to the Nursing Home Support Scheme elderly citizens are aging gracefully and with dignity. The Fair Deal Scheme ensures that the quality of life is not compromised and any distress is addressed at the nick of time.
Author Bio — Jonathan was looking for answers to the Fair Deal Scheme as he wanted to know the details about the Fair Deal nursing home cost care. He came across Fair Deal Advice and was extremely pleased with how they helped him through the entire process.
