What Types Of Payment Options Are Available For Assisted Living Care?
Assisted living is a type of long term care community for seniors and disabled people. Residents have their own apartments or small homes where they are provided with various types of care by employed staff based on their own specific needs. This care may include housekeeping, preparing meals, bathing and dressing, administering medications, and taking residents to appointments or other outings.
In most cases, residing in an assisted living community is less expensive than residing in a nursing home facility. However, the cost of assisted living is based on the type of care and frequency of care that each resident needs. These are some different ways the cost of assisted living care can be paid.
Medicaid/Medicare
Depending on which state the resident lives in, Medicaid may help cover the cost of assisted living. However, this is often available to only those residents who have extremely low income and whose assets are no more than $2,000. Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover the cost of staying in an assisted living home. Although, if a resident is eligible for the Medicare Advantage program, they may be able to have some of the services that are provided in an assisted living community paid for, such as bathing and hygiene, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and any home modifications that need to be done to ensure the resident is safe.
Social Security
Social Security does not pay for assisted living because payments from social security go directly to the person eligible for them. But, in some states, social security will increase a person's benefits so that there is enough money available to cover some or all of the costs of assisted living care. This is mainly because the government would prefer to cover the cost of assisted living care as opposed to the more expensive cost of keeping a resident cared for in a nursing home facility.
Long Term Care Insurance
Long term care insurance is another way to pay for the cost of assisted living care. Unfortunately, few Americans have this type of insurance available. This is because this type of coverage used to be offered by companies that provided life insurance or accidental death insurance. In recent years, long term care insurance no longer exists because insurance companies realized they would end up paying much more than the insured person had paid in. So, if a person does not already have this insurance, there is no way to purchase it now.
If a potential assisted living resident is a veteran, they can be eligible for assistance with paying for assisted living care by a pension known as the Aid and Attendance Benefit. This program offers $1,881 monthly to each veteran that can be used for assisted living care expenses. However, obtaining these benefits often involves substantial paperwork and can take long periods of time to complete.
For more information about assisted living, contact a service like Sequoia Springs Senior Living.