LTC: Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls for debate
Britain's long term care system is both unfair and incoherent, according to a recent paper by Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The charity calls for a national debate on how to better share the cost between the State and private individuals in order to meet the growing needs of an ageing population.
It also suggested that the current system is "unsustainable" because it does not provide a clear-cut set of entitlements according to how much care people need and does not set out a well-established set of rules about how much people should contribute.
Donald Hirsh, author of the report and special adviser at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "In the next 50 years we will have to spend about four times as much in real terms on long term care as we do now. If we keep our present system of public funding, most of the increase will fall on individuals, many of whom will find it difficult to pay."
According to Joseph Rowntree Foundation, options for a reformed system include improving the system that helps pay for residential and nursing care based on an older person's diagnosed condition, and limiting the extent to which people are required to use the proceeds of selling their homes before they are eligible for help with care costs.
