The government has today announced that the cap on care costs has been delayed until at least 2020.
The Care Cap was one of the key elements set out in the Care Act 2014 and was due for implementation on 1 April 2016.
When the Care Act was introduced the then sponsoring minister (Norman Lamb) stated:
"The Care Act represents the most significant reform of care and support in more than 60 years, putting people and their carers in control of their care and support. For the first time, the Act will put a limit on the amount anyone will have to pay towards the costs of their care."
However, it should be borne in mind that the cap was never what it seemed.
The headlines suggested that no-one would have to pay more than £72,000 towards the costs of their own care - and yet:
Privately funded care users subsidise local authority funded care users. Anyone who deals with the care system on a day-to-day basis knows that to be true.
Local authorities and the health service argue that this is because they are able to use their 'bulk buying' power to obtain better rates.
That may be true, but budget constraints and increased demand have resulted in local authorities and the health service constantly seeking to reduce the price they pay.
Many would argue this has pushed care providers to breaking point. Those providers have survived by charging private clients a much higher rate than they charge the state.
The introduction of the care cap was supposed to coincide with the introduction of a right for anyone to require the local authority to 'commission' their care. This would have enabled self-funders to access the local authority rates.
That had to happen at the same time as the care cap came in, otherwise we would have the nonsensical position that costs would accrue against the cap at a rate that could not be accessed by people actually purchasing the care.
However if everyone could access the local authority rates that would mean no more subsidy by privately funded users. The consequence of this would be a general increase in the price charged to local authorities - or the failure of providers.
This at the same time as providers will be dealing with the increased minimum wage and the Care Quality Commission is driving for higher care standards.
By delaying, the government has given itself additional time to solve these problems, which lie at the heart of the concept of a cap on care costs.
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