Long Term Care is not just for nursing homes. If you find you are in need of care which requires a few of the activities of daily living-eating (need meals), bathing, dressing, mobility-you may need assisted living and not nursing care. Or you may need a memory care community within an Assisted Living.
Assisted living is very expensive. I am a former Assisted Living Administrator. If you want a nice Assisted Living after having had a nice home and lifestyle, and depending on how much help with your daily living needs you have, you can be looking anywhere from mid $4,000 on up into the $6-$10,000 range.
A good long term care policy will cover in today's rates at least $6,000 a month with annual increases in the amount of coverage. You can usually expect 3-5% increase a year in Assisted Living.
And check to see if the policy will allow you to use the benefit to have in home help instead of moving out if that would suit your situation. Often you can hire your own person, even a relative, to provide care.
And please remember, if you are a veteran and need assisted living or nursing home, apply for the Aide and Attendant Benefit, but you have to have lower assets to be eligible.
Planning how you manage your assets early on can help you obtain Medicaid and Aide and Attendant when you need it.
Many assisted livings do a very high level of care which will keep you out of a nursing home unless you develop certain medical needs that the State regulations do not allow them to provide. Always ask what is the highest level of care they provide, including a memory care area within the assisted living. And please look beyond the beauty of the building and the chandelier. Ask how long the Administrator has been there; ask to see the State survey results of the past few years and also to see any investigation complaints and outcomes (also on the ACHA website); talk to residents and family members; ask the percentage of staff turnover; and eat quite a few meals there on different days including Sundays. You would be surprised to know that with all the money you pay, the food budget daily for a resident can be from under $5 to $7 a day. They hound the Administrator to keep the food budget low and to push the chef to be frugal.
Ask about transportation-how often, to where, how far will they drive you. And entertainment-how often are entertainers brought in, will they take people out to other events and outings.
How many nursing hours a day? And is it 7 days a week?
Be vigilant in choosing an assisted living. There are many in The Villages and there are some very nice ones on the outskirts. Do not be manipulated when they tell you at the ones in The Villages that you can access all the benefits of The Villages. Very few people in Assisted Living use Villages amenities, sometimes the healthier spouse living there may, but don't take it as a selling point, and they will try and sell and market to you. Take a look at those in and outside the parameters of The Villages.
And, do not think you cannot negotiate. There is always a "move in" fee. You can negotiate this down and often get rid of it all together if they need to get their occupancy numbers up. Assisted Living is all about occupancy. There are investors to satisfy as well as the management company who is pressured by the investors and owners. They need you more than you need them because there are so many to choose from. Sometimes there are incentives like a month or two free rent, so never move in without an incentive and a deal.
Hope this helps-I know you were asking about Long Term Care insurance but it is good to understand how you can spend it, where and what you get!
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