The Essential Guide to Caring for Aging Parents by Linda Rhodes

Author:Linda Rhodes [Rhodes, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101585788
Publisher: DK Publishing
Published: 2012-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

Long-Term Care Insurance

My mother was one of the first people to sign up for long-term care insurance more than 30 years ago. She had been a nursing home administrator and had become all too familiar with the devastating cost of nursing home care on family finances. Today, at 85 years of age, the policy is providing her home health care and has been a solid return on investment.

Long-term care policies usually offer one or all of the following kinds of care:

Nursing home care: This means skilled nursing care at a long-term care facility. Some nursing homes also provide custodial care and assisted living, which would not be covered under the skilled nursing care provision of the policy. Don’t assume that if the care is provided by a nursing home, the care is automatically covered—be sure to ask for clarification. Nursing homes are licensed by the state, and if the facility is Medicare certified, it is also monitored by the federal government. Nursing home care is the major reason most people buy long-term care policies. It’s no wonder—people can pay $70,000 to $80,000 a year, depending on where they live.

Home health care: These are services provided at home. They include occupational, physical, respiratory, and speech therapy; nursing care; social work; and nursing assistant services. This is helpful because it gives your parent an alternative to nursing home care.

Personal or custodial care: These services provide help with activities of daily living (ADLs) that are nonmedical, such as assistance with bathing, transfers in and out of beds and chairs, meal preparation, and medication reminders.

Respite care: This is temporary care to relieve a caregiver who provides full-time care to the insured person. For many companies, this is an add-on to a regular policy.

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