The Employment & Social Security and Health & Social Care Committees will attempt this week to overturn a previous States’ decision to limit payments from the Long Term Care Insurance Fund to people who have lived in the island for more than 20 years.
At the moment anybody who has lived in Guernsey for more than five years qualifies for the support payments if they need to go into a residential or nursing home.
In practice that means many people are entitled to, or actually do receive payments, who have never paid any contributions into the fund.
Last year, as part of a series of measures to improve the long-term viability of the fund, the previous ESS committee suggested limiting eligibility to those who had lived in the island for at least 10 years since the scheme commenced in 2003.
But the proposal was amended by former Deputy Al Brouard, who persuaded the States to set the bar at 20 years instead. Now the two committees are asking the States to revert to the previous proposal of 10 years, pointing out that the more extreme policy would cause a number of difficulties.
‘As originally amended, the 20-year aggregate residency requirement will create a number of unintended consequences, particularly for the Committee for Health & Social Care, notably in relation to availability of acute treatment at the PEH. A 10-year residency requirement also aligns with the current requirements in Jersey and minimises the risks of creating a competitive disadvantage between the islands,’ they said.
In proposing the U-turn the committees accept that it would reduce the savings that a tougher eligibility requirement would deliver for the scheme. However, they point out that about 70% of those denied long-term care payments from the insurance fund would instead qualify for income support for help with their care payments.
As a result the overall cost of moving from the agreed 20-year qualifying period to 10 years instead would only be £500,000 a year. The increase from the current five-year requirement will be phased in to ensure that no one who would qualify for long-term care payments now would lose that right retrospectively.
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