Understanding The Rules Of Fair Deal Scheme

A detailed guideline is given at the website of Health and Security Executive (HSE)  that operates the Fair Deal Scheme, about all the rules and regulations of the scheme, whereas applicants are often met with unusual hurdles that can be really stressful for them to get by. Here is a detailed guide of the procedure that one needs to prepare themselves for,

A Step By Step Process

The application is made to the HSE, by signing up on a form, following which there are certain procedures to cover 3 basic steps. Below is a synopsis of that.

Care Needs Assessment ⸺ Once you fill in the form, and submit an agent from the HSE department will visit you personally and determine your condition and what kind of nursing home care you would need, you can either be supported at your home, with tailored set of nursing home services, or shifted to full time, residential care. The decision completely depends on your physical condition.

Financial Assessment ⸺ This is the most important assessment to the HSE, as they would be costing 80% of it as you cost of care. The HSE assesses everything you have, from cash assets like savings, shares, pension, any rental income, any social benefits or allowances and so on. But this will only be limited to the person who is applying for the scheme, it will not touch the family member’s or the applicant’s children’s finances.

Determining Cost Of Care  ⸺ The cost of care would be basically 80% of your income and 7.5% per annum on your assets like a house, farmland or normal land. This will exclude the first €36,000 for a single person and €36,000 for couple, typically, spouses.

The time-span from application to approval takes at least 6 months. And you would separately need some time to gather information and resources in your initial phase of research. So it’s not an immediate resort you can get. Family members of candidates can take a step here, as this can be a stressful way for a single pensioned person to do everything on their own. Herein, one can get in touch with an agent that can comprehensively take care of all the diligence like a family member.

The Nursing Home Loan Scheme

In case you are unable to pay the assets, like sell of part or all of your home or property, in that case you can take a Nursing Home Loan, wherein, you don't’ pay anything out of your assets during your lifetime, but the HSE pays the asset contribution from your side. This payment will be counted as a loan, and is to be collected by the Revenue Commissioners after your lifetime. This area needs a personalised assistance, as it certainly gets a lot of confusing for homeowners, for farming families to choose between Nursing  home Care, or their family businesses. Many agencies are there in Ireland that closely work towards turning the weak points of the Fair Deal Scheme into a strength, and you can discuss with them to get a viable resolution for your case.

A Realistic Nursing Homes Support Scheme Guide On Contribution Costing

Before we start, let’s revise what exactly Nursing Home Support Scheme— Fair Deal scheme gives you.

Fair Deal is a Government operated scheme available for all citizens of Ireland. This gives any person who is in need of residential care, the opportunity to have quality health care and nursing home support, at the expense of whatever you can afford, while the rest of the balance will be paid off by the Government.

The Fair Deal Ireland scheme is not free, though it is aimed to be highly beneficial for financially weak individuals, the scheme has it’s own downsides, when it comes to long term care. So here is a long story short and realistic Nursing Home Support Scheme Guide, for your perusal.

What About Affordability?
The Fair Deal Support Scheme is operated by the HSE, which administers the costing that you would need to pay – the Contribution Cost. The nature of this scheme calls for varying amounts of the Contribution Cost, since candidates would have varying income.

Once you apply for the scheme, an HSE agent gets in touch with you, and performs an assessment of your  residential care requirements and financial condition. This assessment includes your personal income, either from a pension or by renting out an apartment, or family assets. Then, depending on the financial condition, and the extent of residential care services you will require, will the scheme be settled, wherein you would have to pay them a percentage of the total cost.

The payment works on a weekly basis or monthly, as you would please. So if the total cost of your residential care amounts to €700 per week, and you are to pay about €200 as your contribution cost, then the balance €500 will be paid by the Government. And this system goes on for as long as you can.

What Are Your Assets
In general, the price for the Fair Deal Scheme costs 80% of your income, that’s either your pension or house rent, farming or any other small business that mean of a stable income, plus 7.5% of any relevant asset per annum, such as a house, farm or land.
However, this deduction will only be levied if your assets, whether cash or relevant, is greater than €36,000 for one person, or €72,000 for a couple. In this case, the remaining assets will be counted for your contribution cost.


Conclusion:
It is wiser to talk with a Fair Deal agent beforehand, or you can also take the guidance on a legal advisor as well. The Fair Deal scheme has it’s own limitations and can get really stressful in the procedure, despite all information is clarified at the HSE website. Having an agent close at hand, will make things way easier for you.

5 Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme Facts You Should Know!

Ailments occur out of the blue and leave us traumatised with hefty hospital bills, let alone the agonies of witnessing your much-closed one, experiencing excruciating pain from an illness. Although medical breakthroughs do have a cure for almost every possible disease or illnesses, the package cost is hard to afford. Hence, the urgency of a Nursing Home Support Scheme, an HSE (Health Service Executive) operated plan, spelling fair deal in a literal sense.

Despite the emergence and popularity of Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), people still seem to hold confusion, which is why this write-up intends to clear them up and encourage them to adopt it for a carefree living.

Here are a few underlying facts defining Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme—

• Flexibility in contribution
  The weekly contribution expected from the scheme users towards the cost of care is not a fixed sum, rather a meagre percentage of the income, varying from one individual to another, depending on their earnings and assets.


• Covers long-term nursing home care
  If you are of the opinion that such a scheme, covers short-term care costs such as those incurred in day-care or additional fees charged for activities such as therapies and hairdressing in nursing homes, then you are mistaken. Rather, it proves to be a staunch financial support for those requiring long-term care urgently.


• A robust option, whose financial situation is poor
  Those who fail to meet the weekly contributions, receive State support, whereby HSE covers the cost of care on behalf of the scheme user, by paying out the due.


• Income covers not just yearly earnings
  The financial assessment carried out by HSE, take into account, not just the mere salary of the individual, but also the pension received, rental income, funds from social welfare benefits, those from allowances, interests, dividends, commissions and directorship. Apart from these, assets are considered as well, probing relevant and cash assets of the applicant.


• Applicable on approved nursing homes
  Most of us are of the preconceived notion that such a scheme holds true only for public nursing homes, but this isn’t true. State approved ones include public, private and voluntary healthcare centres, contributing to the welfare of scheme applicants. 

Postscript:
Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme has turned out to be a necessity and not just limited to choice. Despite the institutional care offered to frail and elderly people, suffering from ill health, home is after all where the heart is.