Fair Deal Nursing Home Support Scheme Ireland - Paying for Cost of Care in 2022

 

A recent report released by the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform revealed how so many residents of Private Nursing Homes paid greater amounts of cost of care, even after living under the Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS). For some people, the amount of weekly contribution was almost double the prices at public nursing homes.

Here is a fact check.

Nursing Home Support Scheme - What You Pay For

 For most of its part, The Fair Deal Scheme covers the basic nursing home costs like bedding, food, lodging and laundry. But it will not count for “extra” expenses such as physiotherapy, hairstyling, therapies etc. While your medical expenses will be considered for exemption from the cost of care, your future medical needs would have to be dependent on savings that are left off after paying the cost of care. Which is 20% of your cash asset + €36,000 out of your savings.

If you are planning for the future you have to consider that you are making arrangements for a time when costs are bent on rising, from what it is in the recent year.

A piece of recent news published in the Irish Times pointed out the situation, how between the years 2015 and 2019 the cost of care at public nursing homes have risen from €523 to €624.

The increased expenditures of €100 per resident per week borne by Public Nursing Homes were compensated by larger health budgets, putting the cost differential at 73% if invoiced to the NHSS.

 

What Makes The Costs Rise

The study report further indicated how the number of applicants for the NHSS funding has increased dramatically, 2.4% between 2015 and 2019, that’s 23,629 people. Meanwhile, the average price charged to the system for a public nursing home per resident per week increased by 13.3%, from €1,426 to €1,616.

The rising costs are an inevitable part of Nursing Home Care, with or without the Fair Deal.

Economic slump, rising costs, and demands of people will always stir the costs to change. In the recent report, the impact of the COVID-19 was a grave reason for “funding discrimination”  in nursing home care, posing a "challenge to sustainability" with some smaller nursing facilities having to close.

New Guidelines for the Fair Deal Scheme - To Sell or Not To Sell A House

But above all the hurdles, the Fair Deal Scheme is in the phase to change for real by the year 2022.

One major passing out happened in October 2021, with the publication of the HSE’s new guidelines, which would finally allow homeowners and farmers the 3-year Cap facility. It will allow them to keep their farmlands, principal residences and even sell a house after successfully paying the first 3years’ worth of cost of care.

The net proceeds will be charged as a cash asset until the client has been a resident of the nursing home for three years, after which they will not be chargeable.

 

You Need To Speak To An Expert Before Making A Decision

The fact remains that the Fair Deal Nursing Home Support Scheme would work differently for different people, and if you are not making a conscious decision, you might end up depriving yourself of certain benefits or exemptions.

It is critical to seek legal advice before selling a home while receiving nursing home care at this time. Because it may have ramifications for the person's future participation or eligibility for the fair deal, and because it will not benefit all people, notably those in Dublin with higher-value properties.