Party conference season is in full swing and the issue of elderly care funding has been high on the agenda for both Labour and Conservatives. Gordon Brown has positioned himself behind the idea of a "National Care Service", with the public helping to fund care through direct payments, insurance premiums or compulsory fees - none of these ideas have been decided upon yet.... David Cameron proposed an £8000 payment to a national insurance scheme in return for full care funding, and then decided that actually what he really meant to say was that it wouldn't be for full care funding and that the public would have to pay top-ups - so nothing settled, yet then....
And that's just the point - it is wonderful that the care issue is taking a higher place on the political agenda, but these proposals which are being presented to the public are a long way from being the finished article and that's where things start to get confusing.
I attended The Care Show (a trade fair for all things care-related - hardly buzzing, but that's another story) yesterday and I heard from people in the know that the public are incredibly confused about what is being offered to them and many are postponing any sort of care planning in the belief that the government - be it Labour or Conservative - is going to pay for it all.
A classic case of a little information being a dangerous thing...
For help in clarifying the situation, read Q&A Social care plans (the proposals from both parties summarised)
and to find out what you are entitled to NOW read All you need to know about funding your care
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