Adapted from an eldercare article written by Valerie VanBooven RN BSN
Today there are many tools and resources to assist seniors in paying for the care
that they need. Long-term care insurance, reverse mortgages, Life Settlements, VA
home aid and attendant pension benefits are just a few of the many options that exist
for seniors and their family members. Here are just a few ways that seniors and their
families can pay for elder care.
Privately paying for long-term care means that seniors
would have to find an additional $28,560 to $75,190 per year in their budget for
just ONE person to receive care. Most of us, seniors or not, could not afford to
privately pay for our own care year after year, so long term care planning may be
needed.
Long-term care insurance will pay for in-home care, assisted living, and
nursing home care. This is the most appropriate and needed form of insurance protection
available to us today. Long-term care insurance should be termed "lifestyle" insurance
(it's NOT nursing home insurance). If your vision of your later years includes sitting
at home in your own recliner, with your own remote control, watching your own TV,
you should be planning for that future with long-term care insurance.
CarePatrol has a division which can assist you with your long term insurance needs.
Life Settlements have recently become an option for many seniors in paying for care.
A life settlement is the utilization of a life insurance policy to pay for assisted
living, nursing home or in home care. A third party company pays your loved one
for the purchase of their life insurance policy, in return your loved one receives
a lump sum of money and no longer has to pay for the his or her life insurance policy.
This is very different that sacrificing your loved one’s policy for “cash value”.
Life Settlements can offer 2 times or more than the actual “cash value” price. CarePatrol
has a division which can assist you with your life settlement needs.
Reverse mortgages (Home Equity Conversion Mortgages) have become one of the most
popular and accepted ways of paying for many different expenses, including the cost
of long-term care. Reverse mortgages are designed to keep seniors at home longer.
A reverse mortgage can pay for in-home care, home repair, home modification, and
any other need a senior may have. CarePatrol has a division which can assist you
with your reverse mortgage needs.
Government assistance should be a last resort when considering how to pay for long-term
care. This type of assistance refers to relying on the Medicaid system. Medicaid
will pay for long-term care for seniors who cannot afford to pay for care themselves.
Keep in mind that Medicaid is an under-funded and over-burdened system; therefore,
Medicaid resources are limited. This also means that in many areas Medicaid beds
in nursing homes are difficult to find and families may end up driving long distances
to visit their loved ones. Traditionally, Medicaid resources for in-home care are
extremely limited, which means most seniors who apply for Medicaid end up in a nursing
home type setting. The Deficit Reduction Act 2005 makes qualifying for Medicaid even
more difficult for most families. Planning ahead is really the only viable option
for families today. CarePatrol has a division which can assist you with your medicaid
planning needs.
VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit has allowed the Veterans Administration to
establish a pension program whereby your purchase of personal care and attendant
home services may be paid for through your acquired pension. If you are a Veteran
or the surviving spouse of a Veteran who has served at least 90 days or more on active
duty with one day beginning or ending during a period of war, and you are in need
of assistance at HOME due to your disabilities, you may be eligible for VA's non-service
connected disability pension. CarePatrol can assist you with investigating your veteran’s
assistance options.
The following are the VA's defined "periods of war":
- WWI - 4/16/1917 to 11/11/1918
- WWII- 12/7/1941 to 12/31/1946
- Korea- 6/25/1950 to 1/31/1955
- Vietnam- 8/5/1964 to 5/7/1975
- Persian Gulf- 8/2/90 to present
