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NHS Continuing Healthcare: free care with no means test

If your needs are primarily health needs the NHS pays for all your care, whatever your savings. How eligibility is decided and how to prepare.

Carevo editorial team Updated 2 August 2026 Checked by Carevo editorial team, 2 August 2026

Figures on this page are 2026/27 tax year rates, checked 2 August 2026. UK benefit rates and care charging thresholds change every April.

NHS Continuing Healthcare is a package of care arranged and fully funded by the NHS for adults with ongoing health needs. It is the single most valuable funding route in English social care, and the least well understood.

Why it matters

Everything else is means tested. Through your council, capital above £23,250 means you pay the full cost. CHC has no means test at all.

For someone in a nursing home, the difference between CHC and no CHC can be tens of thousands of pounds a year.

The test is needs, not diagnosis

Eligibility turns on whether you have a primary health need, judged across four characteristics:

  • Nature, the type of need and the skill required to meet it
  • Intensity, how severe and how continuous
  • Complexity, how the needs interact
  • Unpredictability, how much things fluctuate and what happens if the response is not immediate

We have written a fuller explanation of what actually qualifies.

The process

The Checklist. A short screening tool that decides whether you get a full assessment. The threshold is deliberately low. Anyone can request one.

The Decision Support Tool. A multidisciplinary assessment scoring 12 care domains from No needs up to Priority. You have a right to be involved.

The decision. The integrated care board decides, based on the team’s recommendation.

Reviews. If eligible, expect a review after three months and then annually. Eligibility can be removed if needs change, which is a common source of dispute.

If you are turned down

Ask for the completed Decision Support Tool and read the reasoning domain by domain. Then request a local review from the integrated care board, and after that an independent review from NHS England.

Watch particularly for a well managed need being scored as no need. If your condition is stable only because skilled care is keeping it stable, that must be scored on what would happen without the care, not on the calm surface.

Free help

Beacon gives free independent CHC advice funded by the NHS. Start there. Age UK and Carers UK also help. Some private firms charge a percentage of any award, so read the terms carefully before signing.

Prepare properly

Use our CHC checklist tool to work through the 12 domains and see where your evidence is strong and where it is thin before the assessment meeting.

Common questions

Is NHS Continuing Healthcare means tested?

No. If you are eligible the NHS pays the full cost of your care, including a nursing home place, regardless of income, savings or property. It is the only route to fully funded long term care in England.

What conditions qualify for CHC?

None specifically. Eligibility is decided on the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of your care needs, not on your diagnosis. Two people with the same condition can receive opposite decisions.

Who can request an assessment?

You, a family member, or any health or social care professional can ask the integrated care board for a CHC Checklist. You do not need a GP referral, and you should not be told to wait for social services first.

What if I am found not eligible?

You should then be assessed for NHS-funded Nursing Care, £267.68 a week paid to a nursing home, and referred to your council for a means-tested assessment. You can also ask the integrated care board for a local review of the CHC decision.

Sources

This page is general information about how care funding works in England. It is not financial, legal or medical advice, and it does not replace an assessment by your local council or the NHS. Carevo is not a care provider.