The new Fair Deal scheme for funding nursing home care will commence on October 27th, Minister for Health Mary Harney announced today.
People currently in long term private nursing home care or those in acute hospitals waiting for long term care can now begin applying for help with the cost of long term care under the scheme.
It replaces the subvention scheme which has been in existence since 1993. Only new entrants to public nursing homes will be affected.
It is anticipated about 9,000 new entrants to nursing home care, be it public or private, annually will be applying to join the scheme.
Under Fair Deal applicants for assistance with the costs of nursing home care costs will have to undergo a care needs assessment and a financial assessment.
The assessment will look at cash assets including savings or shares and at fixed assets such as a home, land or business.
An applicant for the scheme can defer the cost of care until after death by placing a charge against their home. This would be capped at up to 15 per cent of the value of their home.
For a person with a pension they will not have to pay more than 80 per cent of it towards the cost of care.
For others with cash assets the first €36,000 for a single person and €72,000 for a couple will not be counted. After that they are liable to pay 80 per cent of their assessable income towards the cost of their care. But Ms Harney stressed nobody would pay more than the actual cost of their care.
The HSE has been given €55 million to cover the cost of the scheme this year and its estimated the scheme will cost the State over €1 billion next year.
Documentation provided by the Department of Health states that the HSE will be provided with a set level of funding for the scheme each year but if this turns out to be insufficient people wanting to join the scheme could be put on a waiting list.
"While it is hoped that there would be sufficient funding to support everyone, there may be situations where a person's name must go onto a waiting list until funding becomes available. If this is the case the HSE will notify you when it writes to advise you whether you are eligible for State support," it says.
Nursing Homes Ireland has expressed concern about the prospect of waiting lists as well as the fact that the scheme will not cover therapies or incontinence wear for older residents.
Ms Harney also announced that for those who are incapacitated and unable to apply for the scheme members of their family can apply to be their care representative by making an application to the Circuit Court and then applying to be part of Fair Deal on their behalf. People will have to bear the costs of the Circuit court application themselves.
Labour party spokeswoman on health, Jan O’Sullivan, welcomed the announcement.
"Elderly people and their families have been anxiously waiting for the Minister to fulfil her promise to bring it in to operation….I have received many calls from elderly people who have been terrified that they would be put out of the nursing home they are in because their money has run out."
Age Action today urged the Government to revise the terms of how the Fair Deal legislation is implemented to ensure that the basic needs of nursing home residents are met in return for charging them 80 per cent of their income, up to 15 per cent of the value of their homes, and 5 per cent per annum of their non-cash assets.
“These are basic needs for every nursing home resident, regardless of whether or not they hold a medical card, and should be included in the services covered by the deal,” Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said.