Options for reforming long-term care funding in England, based on the principle of capping people’s care costs.
The government has postponed the ‘capped cost’ reforms to care funding in England until April 2020. Following this announcement, social care campaigners have questioned whether the ‘capped cost’ reforms will be postponed again before 2020, or scrapped completely.
However, another scenario exists: implementation of an alternative reform package during the current parliament based on the principle of capping people’s care costs. Such an approach would:
- Allow the government to meet its political commitment to cap people’s care costs;
- Enable a refreshed set of reforms to care funding in England that take account of recent developments in health and social care policy, and avoid downsides to the ‘capped cost’ reforms such as complexity and potential unintended consequences;
- Address the unfairness and uncertainty that characterizes England’s care funding system.
This report explores the options for the government in rebooting the capped cost reforms, arguing that the current pause in implementation presents an opportunity to adapt the reforms to developments in health and social care policy, and address potential downsides to the ‘capped cost’ model, such as the risk of unintended consequences.
You can download a copy of Rebooting the Cap here:
Rebooting the Cap – Improving protection from catastrophic care costs
Author: James Lloyd, Strategic Society Centre
Twitter: #capreboot