If a family member paid care home fees that should have been funded by the NHS, you may be able to reclaim them through a retrospective CHC review. This guide explains who qualifies, the time limits, and includes a letter template.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Support & Benefits guide cluster.
Also searched as: n h s continuing healthcare; n h s continuing healthcare claim; nhs continuing healthcare.
There is no fixed amount. It depends on the eligible period, care costs actually paid, sums already funded by the NHS or another public body, and the ICB’s redress calculation. Current GOV.UK guidance says reimbursement should include interest.
The ICB will usually contact the care home to obtain records. You do not need to involve the care home directly, although it can help to tell them a review is underway so they can locate the relevant records promptly.
The ICB should consider the evidence that remains available, such as GP records, hospital records, local authority records, invoices and family evidence. Missing records can make the case harder, but they should not automatically end the review.
Potentially. GOV.UK calls this a request for a previously unassessed period of care. The ICB first checks whether the period was considered or assessed at the time and whether the request is appropriate. Contact the relevant ICB for its application form and explain the objective evidence that CHC eligibility should have been considered.
NHS-funded nursing care is a weekly NHS payment to nursing homes for the registered nursing element of care where the person does not qualify for full NHS Continuing Healthcare. From 1 April 2026, the standard rate in England is £267.68 per week and the higher rate is £368.24 per week for those who still qualify for the old higher band.
A CHC repayment becomes an estate asset and can change the estate's tax position, including where care fees were previously treated as liabilities. The personal representative should review any inheritance-tax account or excepted-estate information already supplied and follow HMRC's correction or reporting route where required.