Planning Options for Nursing Home Costs

Protection of assets from the high cost of nursing home care is the primary concern of many seniors. The high costs of healthcare, and in particular long term care expenses, results in a tremendous loss of assets for many seniors. Long term care expenses can take the form of care givers in the home, assisted living care in facilities, and in many cases full time care including nursing home care. As you might imagine, the costs for long-term care can rapidly deplete a person’s estate. Nursing home costs in Garland County can easily exceed $6,000.00 per month, with home based care even more expensive. My law practice, often referred to as elder law, focuses on helping people plan for such costs.

The best planning option for future long term care expenses, whether it be assisted living, home based care or long-term care is the purchase of an appropriate long-term care insurance policy. A properly structured long-term care policy will include services for home care, assisted living care as well as nursing home care. These policies are the best option and should be looked into as part of your estate plan.

I have found that a small percentage of my clients have long-term care insurance, which forces them to look for other alternatives to pay for their care. In the case of assisted living care, which may be provided for in the home or in an assisted living facility, my first inquiry is whether or not my client or their spouse was a wartime veteran. If they were a wartime veteran, then they have an opportunity to seek a special pension benefit available through the Veteran’s Administration, known as Aid and Attendance Benefits. While this pension benefit will not cover the full cost associated with most care, it does provide a monthly pension (of up to $2,000.00 per month in some cases) which will help supplement the cost of uncovered medical-related care, including assisted living or home-based care. There are numerous eligibility restrictions on the Veteran’s Administration Aid and Attendance program. If you or your spouse were a wartime veteran and you have medical-related expenses that exceed your monthly income, you should inquire as to your eligibility for said pension benefits, as they provide much needed funds to help supplement the cost of your care.

For those clients that need full-time nursing home care, the options remaining for payment of such care are limited. The two main options are private payment (in excess of $6,000.00 per month) or the long-term care Medicaid program. It might surprise you to know that upwards of 70 percent of all people in nursing homes are covered by the long-term care Medicaid program. The cost savings associated with the long-term care Medicaid benefits can be significant. Gaining eligibility for the long-term care Medicaid program is a complex process. Throughout my practice I have gained experience in this area as I have assisted hundreds of people in obtaining long-term care Medicaid eligibility.

If you or a loved one need long term care, I strongly encourage you to seek out competent legal advice regarding your eligibility for the VA Aid and Attendance pension or the long term care Medicaid program as these programs can provide much-needed funds to pay for the high costs associated with such care. For those healthy enough to purchase long term care insurance I encourage you to talk to your insurance agent about the options available.