Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England
Reforms to the means tests in England for state-financed long-term care were planned for implementation in 2025. They included a lifetime limit (cap) on how much an individual must contribute to their care, with the state meeting subsequent care costs. We present projections of the costs and distrib...
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| Language: | English |
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| Series: | Health Economics, Policy and Law |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744133125000088/type/journal_article |
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| author | Bo Hu Ruth Hancock Raphael Wittenberg Derek King Marcello Morciano |
| author_facet | Bo Hu Ruth Hancock Raphael Wittenberg Derek King Marcello Morciano |
| author_sort | Bo Hu |
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| description | Reforms to the means tests in England for state-financed long-term care were planned for implementation in 2025. They included a lifetime limit (cap) on how much an individual must contribute to their care, with the state meeting subsequent care costs. We present projections of the costs and distributional impacts of these reforms for older people, using two linked simulation models which draw on a wide range of data. We project that by 2038 public spending on long-term care for older people in England would be about 14% higher than without the reforms. While the main direct beneficiaries of the lifetime cap would have been the better off who currently receive no state help with their care costs, the reforms also treated capital assets more generously than the current system, helping people with more modest incomes and wealth. When analysing the impacts of the reforms it is therefore important to consider the whole reform package. Our results depend on a range of assumptions, and the impacts of the reforms would be sensitive to the levels of the cap and other reformed parameters of the means test on implementation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec69eb98d8b6499dbc027e571a22e8d3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1744-1331 1744-134X |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Economics, Policy and Law |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec69eb98d8b6499dbc027e571a22e8d32025-08-20T03:27:47ZengCambridge University PressHealth Economics, Policy and Law1744-13311744-134X12110.1017/S1744133125000088Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in EnglandBo Hu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5256-505XRuth Hancock1Raphael Wittenberg2Derek King3Marcello Morciano4Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UKCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, UKCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UKCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UKCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK Department of Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, ItalyReforms to the means tests in England for state-financed long-term care were planned for implementation in 2025. They included a lifetime limit (cap) on how much an individual must contribute to their care, with the state meeting subsequent care costs. We present projections of the costs and distributional impacts of these reforms for older people, using two linked simulation models which draw on a wide range of data. We project that by 2038 public spending on long-term care for older people in England would be about 14% higher than without the reforms. While the main direct beneficiaries of the lifetime cap would have been the better off who currently receive no state help with their care costs, the reforms also treated capital assets more generously than the current system, helping people with more modest incomes and wealth. When analysing the impacts of the reforms it is therefore important to consider the whole reform package. Our results depend on a range of assumptions, and the impacts of the reforms would be sensitive to the levels of the cap and other reformed parameters of the means test on implementation.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744133125000088/type/journal_articlelong-term careolder peoplecharging reformprojected expendituredistribution analysesH51H53H75I18 |
| spellingShingle | Bo Hu Ruth Hancock Raphael Wittenberg Derek King Marcello Morciano Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England Health Economics, Policy and Law long-term care older people charging reform projected expenditure distribution analyses H51 H53 H75 I18 |
| title | Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England |
| title_full | Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England |
| title_fullStr | Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England |
| title_short | Reforming the funding of long-term care for older people: costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in England |
| title_sort | reforming the funding of long term care for older people costs and distributional impacts of planned changes in england |
| topic | long-term care older people charging reform projected expenditure distribution analyses H51 H53 H75 I18 |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744133125000088/type/journal_article |
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