As the life span has been increased, the cost of long-term care has been escalating at an unprecedented pace. The average annual cost of nursing home care was $82,000 in 2016 and is now three times bigger than most seniors’ annual average income.
Care at Home or LTC Community?
How about care at home? Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) data indicates that Medicaid has been spent more on home and community-based long-term care than on institutional care since 2013.
As loved ones consider paying for long-term care, they need to be wary of hidden costs and how paying for this home affects the financial well-being of their spouse. If a person is living in a nursing facility, receiving vendor nursing care, or requesting Home and Community-Based Services (HCB), federal law provides a way to protect some of that person’s assets for a spouse. The law also provides for setting aside income, if needed, for a spouse or dependents.
Ways to Pay
There are mainly four ways to pay the cost: government programs (Medicaid, VA Benefits, etc.), long-term care insurance, private assistance, and personal property. Since there are tremendous options to select within the four resources provided, people are often overwhelmed and seeking help. Thus, we would like to suggest a couple of useful resources to get a glimpse of financial assistance options.
- Long-term Care Insurance: Prepare yourself for the future. Long-term care insurance policies can reimburse you for care at home and long-term care facilities.
- Medicare in Missouri: Under Senior and Disability Services, individuals can get financial benefits such as nursing home payments and prescription drugs.
- Medicaid in Missouri: MO HealthNet in Missouri helps groups of low-income Missourians, including older adults and people with disabilities, to get benefits for their care at home or institutional care.
- VA Benefits: If you are a MO veteran, you could have benefits, including healthcare, tax breaks/exemption, and recreation. Please contact Veteran’s Care Coordination (855-380-4400) or Veteran’s Administration (314-652-4100) to discuss assistance options for home and community-based services and long-term care community benefits.
- Respite funds: Local Area Agency on Aging provides various assistance to older adults and family caregivers. Check out the region map and call your local chapter to ask for further information.
For more information on financial assistance, go to Paying for Senior Care webpage to see more options.
What is the minimum, maximum and average monthly cost a healthy elderly couple should expect to pay, to live in an all inclusive upscale senior apartment community in the county of st louis Missouri
Hello, Jeffrey. I don’t know the answer to that question. I would advise reaching out to our VOYCEconnect Coordinator, Goeun Kwon at 314-919-2403 or https://www.voycestl.org/how-help/voyce-connect-helpline/ to see if she can help you.
My husband it 91 years old and is on hospice at home and I am now no longer to care for his and need to put him in a nursing home. He has Ischemic heart disease, COPD, Gerd, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Struggles to walk, can’t see well, can’t hear. He has a pacemaker and has started getting up and wandering at night. HIs Alzheimer’s has reached the point where he does not recognize family or friends. I am his wife, and he no longer knows who I am and is easily scared because he doesn’t know anyone. He has become incontinent and also has started having with problems with his bowels and will take his Depends off after he messes in them and have feces strung from the bathroom to the bedroom and then climbs into bed without cleaning himself and I have to get him up and clean him and change his bed. I also have to help him shower and get dressed and get shaved. My question is if /when I put him in a nursing home will Medicare help to pay some of the nursing home fee?
Hi, Linda. Thank you for reaching out. These kinds of choices can be very overwhelming, especially when considering finances as well. Because each situation is different, I would advise reaching out to VOYCEconnect. This is VOYCE’s referral helpline. When you reach out, you can discuss the specifics of your situation, and we can get you some answers. You can reach out by calling 314-919-2403 or online here:
https://www.voycestl.org/how-help/voyce-connect-helpline/
Also, I have trouble with walking and am 74. and need to have help with my house cleaning because of arthritis