Long Term Care

When it comes to long-term care costs, the charges for home care are now rising faster than those for nursing home care, according to Genworth’s 2019 Cost of Care survey. In the past year, the median annual cost for home health aides rose 4.55 percent to $52,624, while the median cost of a private nursing home room rose only 1.82 percent to $102,200.

Most people prefer to be cared for in their home rather than a nursing home, but finding a home care provider for you or a loved one can be daunting. Here are some things to keep in mind when looking for a caregiver.

Medicare is mandated to cover your home health benefits with no limit on the time you are covered. Unfortunately, few Medicare beneficiaries get the level of service they are entitled to and many find their services cut off prematurely.

Many people believe that Medicare covers nursing home stays. In fact Medicare’s coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. Medicare covers up to 100 days of “skilled nursing care” per illness, but there are a number of requirements that must be met before the nursing home stay will be covered.

All Long-term care costs rose sharply in 2020, but assisted living facility costs increased the most, according to Genworth’s latest annual Cost of Care Survey. The across-the-board rises were due in part to increased costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Assisted living facilities are a housing option for people who can still live independently but who need some assistance.  Depending on the facility, that assistance may include help with meal preparation, housekeeping, medication management, bathing, dressing, transportation and some nursing care.   

Medicare and Medicaid provide some coverage of the medical portion of home health care. Although the coverage is often inadequate, when combined with other resources available to the older person and his or her family, it may be enough to keep a fragile older person at home for a longer period of time.

Caregiving is hard work and it is easy for caregivers to get burned out. Adult day care centers provide care and companionship in a group setting to seniors who need supervision during the day, allowing their caregivers to go to work or take a much-needed break.

Most long-term care involves assisting with basic personal needs rather than providing medical care. The long-term care community measures personal needs by looking at whether an individual requires help with six basic activities that most people do every day without assistance, called activities of daily living (ADLs).