| £1.7bn needed to overhaul care funding |
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Ministers have been urged to find £1.7bn to implement plans to overhaul the care funding system. The commission on funding care and support, chaired by Andrew Dilnot, said: "Care costs should be capped and means testing reduced to improve the system's fairness and sustainability." Key proposals include:- Capping lifetime care costs at £35,000. This would cover care at home and in residential care, but not bed and board. Raising the means test threshold, below which people become eligible for state funded residential care, from £23,250 to £100,000. Introducing a national system of assessment and eligibility initially set at the substantial threshold. Retaining disability benefits paid to people with care needs but rebranding attendance allowance. |