Long Term Care

    Long-term care is generally defined as (but not limited to) in-home health assistance or skilled nursing care in a facility. Services may include assistance with activities of daily living, home healthcare, respite care, care in a nursing home, or care in an assisted living facility. Some definitions include the assistance of care management professionals who help to coordinate and monitor care. Activities of daily living include eating, bathing, toileting, continence, and transferring. 

    The financial costs of long-term care have spiraled in recent years. The average cost of nursing home care is $38,000 per year, with some regions and homes topping $80,000 per year. Homecare can range from $50 to $150 per day (depending on the complexity of care required and the availability of skilled staff). When you consider that the average nursing home stay is 2 ½ years, the out-of-pocket costs can be disastrous to most families. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (a federal agency formerly called the Health Care Financing Administration) provides average cost information on a state-by-state basis.

    About a third of long-term care costs are paid directly out of pocket by families from their personal savings and the sale of assets like stocks and their homes. Individuals who qualify for Medicaid (after becoming impoverished) may receive coverage for some homecare or nursing home costs. Contrary to popular belief, Medicare and supplemental Medicare insurance do not pay for long-term care. Medicare only pays for a small amount of short-term nursing home care, not the years of care required by many aging adults. Increasingly, individuals are using private long-term care insurance to pay for anticipated expenses that are not covered by Medicare. 

    Long-term care insurance should be considered within the context of a comprehensive plan. That means individuals should consult with their financial and/or elder law advisors to see how the inclusion of an insurance policy would impact their overall estate plan. Paying a few hundred dollars for a lawyer to read and explain the policy to you is well worth it if you are at all confused or skeptical. Getting a “second opinion” is common sense.

DISCLAIMER: There is no binding, adding, deleting, canceling, or changing of coverage through the use of this web site.

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