Funding Your Care
The funding system is confusing. The options underneath it are not.
There are six main routes to paying for home care in Cambridgeshire, and most families use a combination. Here is each one in plain English, including the ones that do not involve us.
Local authority funding
Cambridgeshire County Council can fund some or all of a person's care after a care needs assessment and a financial assessment. The needs assessment is free and anyone can request one, whatever their savings. If you have not had one, it is usually the right place to start.
NHS Continuing Healthcare
Where someone's needs are primarily health needs, the NHS can fund the full cost of their care through Continuing Healthcare. Eligibility is decided through an NHS assessment process, not by savings, and it is worth asking about where needs are complex or changing.
Direct payments and personal budgets
If the council agrees funding, you can choose to receive it as a direct payment or personal budget and use it to pay the provider you choose, including us. This gives you control over who delivers the care.
Paying for your own care
Many families fund care themselves, either from income and savings or alongside partial council funding. Costs depend entirely on the care package, which is why we only quote after the free assessment, in writing, with no hidden extras added later.
Attendance Allowance and other benefits
Attendance Allowance is a non means tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care. Many people who qualify never claim it. Carer's Allowance and other support may also be available to family carers.
Independent advice
For advice that is independent of any care provider, including us, speak to organisations such as Age UK, Citizens Advice or an independent financial adviser accredited in later life care. We will always encourage you to take it.
What Will It Cost?
Honestly: it depends on the care. Costs are driven by how many visits you need, how long they last, the level of support involved and whether nights or live in care are included. Publishing a single headline rate would mislead more people than it helped.
What we promise instead is a written, itemised quote after your free assessment, before you commit to anything, with no charge for the assessment and no extras added later. If council or NHS funding might apply to you, we will say so and point you to the right place to ask.
Talk It Through With Us
We explain funding options at every free assessment, including the routes that do not involve paying us anything. Call us, or book a visit.