NHS Continuing Healthcare: Could the NHS Pay for Your Care? (2026)
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the most valuable — and most overlooked — form of care funding. If you qualify, the NHS pays the entire cost of your care, and it isn't means-tested.
Who is it for?
CHC is for people whose need for care is primarily health-related rather than social. It's about the nature, intensity and unpredictability of your needs — not a specific diagnosis. It's always worth asking for an assessment.
How the assessment works
CHC vs Funded Nursing Care
If you don't qualify for full CHC but live in a nursing home, you may still get NHS Funded Nursing Care (FNC):
Frequently asked questions
Does a dementia diagnosis mean I get CHC?
Not automatically. Eligibility is about the level and complexity of your needs, not the diagnosis itself.
What’s the difference between CHC and FNC?
CHC covers your whole care cost when needs are primarily health-related; FNC is a smaller weekly nursing contribution for nursing-home residents.
Keep reading
How Care Funding Differs Across the UK (2026)
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each fund care differently — from free personal care to different capital limits. Here's what changes where you live.
Using Your Home to Pay for Care: Equity Release & the Alternatives
The ways a property can help pay for care — selling, renting, a deferred payment agreement, equity release or a care fees annuity — and the pros and cons of each.
Who Pays for Care Home Fees? A Plain-English Guide (2026)
The three ways care home fees get paid — self-funding, council funding and the NHS — and how to work out which applies to you.
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