Justin, My mother is in the hospital right now, and her doctors are talking about moving her to rehab in a nursing home soon. Even after rehab, we doubt she’ll ever be able to return home. Is there anything we should be doing right now? Are we too early . . . or late? – Kathy
Kathy, Right now you should be focusing on two separate but related questions—what living arrangements will be appropriate for your mother when rehab is over and how is she going to pay for it.
For most people, when they learn that long-term care is in their immediate future, their minds go straight to nursing home care. Nursing homes serve a lot of long-term care patients, but there are other levels of care available. Depending on your mother’s needs, she could be a candidate for independent living, assisted living, memory care, or a nursing home. Talk with your mother’s medical providers to get a better idea of what level of care you should look into.
Depending on what level of care your mother needs, the cost of that care and the benefits available to pay for it will vary. In a nutshell, there are four ways to pay for long-term care: private pay out of pocket, long-term care insurance, Veteran’s Benefits, and Medicaid. Not every payment option is available in every care setting. And particularly with the government benefit options, there are a lot of rules and regulations with which your mother will have to comply before she can receive coverage.
The key thing right now is to realize she has options—both in the type of care you may pursue for her and in the way she’ll pay for it. We’d be happy to help you figure all this out. Call today for a no-charge strategy session. And check out my book, You Need A Plan, at YourPlanMatters.com.