Long Term Care For Seniors In 2023

Who Needs Long-Term Care?

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Everyone should have a plan for long-term care. And with Americans living longer than ever, this could mean needing some extra help with everyday activities as you age. The benefits of long-term care insurance go beyond what your health insurance may cover by reimbursing you for services needed to help you maintain your lifestyle if age, injury, illness, or a cognitive impairment makes it challenging for you to take care of yourself.

Long-term care may benefit:

Families who want to help protect their loved ones, lifestyle and assets.

Retirees and Pre-retirees wanting to preserve the money they have worked so hard to save.

Individuals who may not have someone to care for them or significant assets to pay for these costs.

Long Term Care For Seniors: Skilled Nursing Facility:

A skilled nursing facility (SNF) provides medical care by trained professionals, including physical, speech, and other therapists as well as nurses. This care is available 24 hours a day. Staff members also help residents, who are often bed-bound, with daily activities such as getting dressed, eating, and bathing.

Potential residents must be deemed eligible to enter an SNF and to be eligible, one must have a hospital-related medical condition. Commonly, this type of facility will care for people after a major health event, like a stroke, or an operation when they no longer need acute care. Though it is a kind of long-term care facility, an SNF is usually used for a limited time.

Assisted Living House:

Assisted living facilities (ALFs) are a step down from nursing homes in terms of hands-on care. They are regulated at the state level, so definitions vary across the country. But generally, ALFs are group environments designed to give residents a home-like atmosphere that promotes independence. Services may include:

· One to three meals a day

· Medication monitoring

· Housekeeping and laundry

· Social and recreational activities

· Limited medical care

The cost of ALFs depends on factors like the size of the apartment or room, services rendered and geographic location. As residents’ ability to take care of themselves declines, the level of care – and costs – go up, until the level of care needed is beyond the ALF’s capability and the resident will need to move to a nursing home. According to a recent Genworth survey, the national median cost of assisted living is around $4,000 a month or $48,000 a year. Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for the cost of residency (room and board), but they may cover some costs of care, depending on the state. Similarly, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Optional State Supplements (OSS) may cover part of assisted living expenses, depending on the state.

Adult Foster Care:

Adult foster care can mean different things in different states. Generally, though, it is used for homes that are smaller than ALFs and in less populous areas (in other words, rural locales).

The services, though, are similar to those at ALFs:

· Meal preparation and assistance with eating

· Cleaning tasks, including laundry

· Bathing and personal grooming

· Dressing

· Walking and climbing stairs

· Shopping and running errands

· Travelling to and from appointments

· Managing medications

Residents don’t receive 24-hour supervision. Instead, they have 24-hour access to assistance, which means the staff may or may not be awake. In contrast, at an ALF, residents have 24-hour access to staff who are awake.

According to Genworth, the monthly costs of adult foster care range from about $1,500 to $3,500. That translates to $18,00 to $42,000 per year.

The Government and Long-Term Care

Many think that government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will pay for all of their future long-term care needs. Surprisingly, they may only pay for some of these services and have many restrictions.

Medicare: May cover a maximum of 100 days of services after a hospital stay. The coverage is designed to assist people during a short-term recovery and doesn’t include personal care or supervision services.

Medicaid: If you have limited assets and income and are relying on Medicaid, the state may make key care decisions on your behalf, including where you receive the care you need.