Nursing home stays can be expensive, considering the admitted senior receives 24-hour skilled nursing care from nursing home staff. Before admitting an aging loved one to a nursing home, consider less-costly options, such as assisted living facilities and in-home care.
Oftentimes, seniors will be admitted to a nursing home for a short period, typically to recover or receive rehabilitation services after being in the hospital. Once the older adult recovers, he can return home. Some nursing home residents reside there permanently due to ongoing health problems.
Seniors who live in nursing homes permanently require constant supervision and skilled nursing care. For these aging people, nursing homes are ideal since the staff focus primarily on providing medical care. Nursing homes offer these residents a wide range of health services.
Services provided in nursing homes are varied. Nursing care, 24-hour supervision, and support with the activities of daily living are standard. Rehabilitation services are also available and include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Three meals per day are served to residents.
Given that nursing homes provide continual supervision and healthcare, a long-term stay in one can be expensive for families. For example, the daily cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home averages $93,000 or more annually or $7,756 per month.
The average length of stay in a nursing home is 485 days. Even when a senior opts for basic room and board, the costs can grow to be excessive. If the admitted individual requires special care services or prefers a private room, the nursing home costs go up even higher.
Due to the exorbitant costs of a long-term stay in a nursing home, families feel compelled to explore alternative options first. Other long-term care options are available, even to elderly individuals who are disabled or chronically ill and require constant, ongoing supervision and care.
Option 1: Private Pay
A sought-after alternative to a nursing home stay is in-home care. Home health services provide seniors with quality care in the comfort of home, and Medicare pays the costs for up to 35 hours per week. Medicare, however, requires that skilled nursing care be included in the in-home care.
Home health care can be utilized for rehabilitative care. Medicare covers speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy for up to 60 days when provided in the senior’s home. The senior’s physician must approve the care plan, and families then go through a certified Medicare agency.
Hiring in-home care can be done for the long term. But if the senior requires 24-hour skilled nursing care for the long term or even permanent nursing home care, the family should consider other payment options. Some families take out a reverse mortgage to help defray the costs.
If the senior has a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA), then tapping into any of these or similar accounts makes financial sense. Be sure to consult a tax advisor to understand the tax implications of liquidating such an account.
Option 2: Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care policy holders who have paid premiums for long-term care insurance for several years have obviously planned ahead. The long-term care insurance can be used to cover the costs of a nursing home stay. For these individuals, paying into a policy for years will not have gone to waste.
In fact, after the age of 65, approximately 70 percent of seniors will require long-term care at some point, making it sensible to prepare by purchasing a long-term care insurance policy well beforehand. Most long-term care policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, however.
Elderly individuals with pre-existing conditions, like cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, are unlikely to be covered by long-term care policies. Such policies also do not cover long-term care for certain conditions, like alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illnesses, and self-inflicted injuries.
Option 3: Medicare
Short-term stays in a nursing home, like the first 100 days, are covered by Medicare. These initial months may be adequate for the senior to receive intense rehabilitation and be on the road to recovery after an injury or short-term illness. Long-term nursing home stays are not covered by Medicare.
Option 4: Medicaid
Usually a last resort, Medicaid is a funding source for low-income seniors. Medicaid is an option for those without financial wealth or a good long-term care insurance policy. Each state in the US offers a Medicaid program for individuals who are unable to self-pay for a nursing home stay.
When families plan for an elderly loved one to receive continual nursing care in a nursing home, the costs can be overwhelming. However, paying for such care can be done by combining self-pay options and support from a government program. An even better choice is hiring in-home care.
Care options from Assisting Hands Home Care
Home care from a reputable agency, like Assisting Hands Home Care Richmond, is preferred by seniors and families alike. Professional caregivers provide non-medical care to elderly adults in the familiarity of a home environment. We offer a wide range of flexible care options to meet the daily needs of seniors.
Our senior home care services include support with all the activities of daily living, which include personal hygiene tasks, transportation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and meal preparation. We also shop for groceries and serve as pleasant companions to care recipients.
Care options from Assisting Hands Home Care are varied. Skilled caregivers are available to provide quality hospice care in the comfort of home, compassionate dementia or Alzheimer’s care, overnight care, live-in and 24-hour care, respite care as well as post-operative care.
Whether your elderly loved one is too frail to complete everyday activities independently or suffers from a chronic condition, like heart disease or diabetes, home care is the most affordable solution. Our caregivers promote optimum physical and emotional health in elderly care recipients.
It’s no wonder families and seniors choose Assisting Hands Home Care over a nursing home stay. We cover all the non-medical care needs of the elderly living in Richmond, Virginia. Schedule your in-home consultation, and we’ll develop a customized care plan. Call today to start quality elder care.
