Many care providers use the higher fees from self-funded residents to subsidise those whose care is paid for by the state.
However, next year’s care reforms have been drafted to bring this to an end with self-funders encouraged to ask the local authority to arrange their care using their negotiating power.
According to analysis from LaingBuisson, care providers face losses of £560m if just 50% take up the option, representing a 3.8% annual loss of revenue and risking widespread care home closures, particularly in the South.
Care England chief executive Martin Green said that if the government’s figures “were not immediately revised this could lead to catastrophic financial failure to be experienced by providers, leading to home closures, and an inability to invest in services for the future”.