The Government Commission on the funding of care and support long-term should not consider paying for long term (LTC) care solely through general taxation a think tank has found.
Conservative think tank Policy Exchange's paper ‘Careless: Funding Long-Term Care for the Elderly' recommends a joint approach between parties.
It says; "A hybrid model should be explored where the State guarantees some level of care - as in the partnership model - but people are required to top up for their LTC through insurance or annuity backed products."
Commenting, Chris Horlick, managing director of care at LTC insurer Partnership, said: "If there is a hybrid or ‘partnership' model, with aligned co-payments between State and the Individual then there is a top up role for LTC through insurance or annuity backed products."
The paper makes three key priority recommendations if a looming crisis in LTC funding is to be addressed, including the contribution from independent advisers.
While the report's first priority is prevention; calling for "low-level interventions that provide information services, help around the house, fall prevention, physical activities, etc", the authors also say that priority should be given to advice.
The authors write; "Financial advice should become an integral part of the long term care system. This should be achieved by compelling local authorities, to signpost people to regulated financial advisors, once they have conducted a needs assessment."
The final priority is over the public's understanding of what is and is not available; "This requires a clear statement from the Coalition Government that free personal care for the elderly cannot be provided entirely by the State. The only question is what level of support the State should provide."
Horlick welcomes the call for greater political clarity from the Government. "We believe that greater certainty will play an important role in helping individuals prepare properly for their meeting their care funding needs," he says.
The proposals are given weight because, as Jim Boyd, director of corporate affairs at Partnership, points out; "The Policy Exchange is the Conservative's favourite think tank and has been the nursery for many of the current ‘Conservative' special advisers in the Lib-Con coalition in the same way that the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) supplied that function for New Labour."
