Providing adequate care is essential to your loved ones' wellbeing. There will come a point when you might no longer be able to do justice to the cause and may consider paying for additional help. You might begin to search for elderly care communities or consider hiring at-home assistance. A comprehensive assessment is generally carried out to determine the type of services an elderly person requires and to meet their unique requirements at their intersecting points of need.
Usually, the first resort for many people is to hire in-home care for those adults who prefer to age-in-place. In-home care costs vary by the caregiver's position as well as by the services elected. In-home healthcare that is maintained by trained medical professionals such as registered nurses and therapists are often the most expensive options. Many aging adults may alternatively opt for elderly care communities such as independent, assisted living or memory care facilities, nursing homes and the like. These too come with an array of options and affordability ranges depending on services provided, amenities, location, health conditions and more. Paying for additional care requires additional expenses which could be covered in part or in full, either as a whole or in combination, by a variety of payment options and plans. Here are but some of the many payment options that you might want to consider:
1. Medicare
Medicare-certified in-home care agencies are companies that are contracted by Medicare to provide a medium of covered healthcare services. Medicare only pays for services handled by an agency that meet its quality standards. An elderly adult who has availed of a Medicare Advantage Plan for instance, may have to use a verified in-home healthcare agency that participates in their plan's network. Medicare also covers specific services provided by assisted living, memory care or other aging care facilities, but since these are viewed as long term care or custodial care suppliers, they are not likely to qualify for full coverage.
2. Healthcare insurance
Private healthcare insurance plans may pay for selected elder care services, but the content varies from plan to plan. The utmost forms of private insurance will not pay for non-medical home care services, and in-home professed care is infrequently covered at a full 100 percent. Depending on the healthcare plan opted for, some or most elements of care will be covered even for assisted living, memory care, and other related facilities. We suggest looking at long-term care insurance plans that are designed for aging adults or even hybrid plans that offer the advantages of typical health insurance benefits along with continuing elderly care needs packed into one.
3. Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance is usually purchased from private companies to cover the costs of nursing home, assisted living and in-home senior care. Benefits vary depending on the plan, so it is important to clarify the services covered by the policy at the time of payment. Do bear in mind that in-home care costs may only be covered if the plan includes an allowance for any non-medical services rendered.
4. Reverse mortgage
It is possible to convert a portion of one's home equity into liquid payments while retaining ownership of the property. Though there are other different types of mortgages, federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) are a commonly used option that can be directed towards elderly care costs. Payment via reverse mortgages are viewed as fairly risk-free, especially if the elderly person is residing in or owns the property whilst maintaining it in accordance with the conditions of the loan.
5. Medicare Supplement Insurance
Also known as Medigap, this covers home care services as an additional policy that works alongside original Medicare benefits. One can purchase the supplemental policy from a private company to pay for unpaid gaps in their Medicare cover such as deductibles and co-payments. Since Medigap is not designed to pay for long-term care, the option is limited to covering the costs of immediate or short term medical necessities.
6. Life Insurance
The life insurance industry presents a viable option for seniors to handle their cash payments through the sale of existing life insurance policies to third party providers. This could include taking out money as a loan from the policy's cash value or surrendering it in return for its cash value. Needless to say, these avenues do come with their terms and conditions, so be sure to explore their minutiae with a fine tooth comb!
7. Pension benefits
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) provides pensions under a variety of categories (Aid and Attendance, Disability Pension, and Survivors Pension to name a few) that can be used to help cover elderly care costs and that of their surviving significant others. In addition to the basic Veterans Pension program, "upgraded" pensions can afford a more advanced level of care. While these pensions may not pay for the entirety of senior care either at-home or in an aging care community, they can be directed towards long term care expenses or routed towards specific medical costs. Moreover, recipients could also be eligible for care furnished by the VA, such as through the nursing homes and aging communities that it runs.
8. Private Payments
Most families pay towards elderly care from their own savings or pay checks. Possible sources might include individual withdrawal accounts (IRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), pensions, investments, appropriations, real estate and Social Security benefits. Although seniors may be reluctant to use their hard-earned savings or hesitate to liquidate their assets, this still remains as one of the primary sources of funding for aging care options. While out of pocket expenses do seem inevitable, you can be sure that we will work doubly hard to ensure that it will be well worth your investment!
