Whenever you need assisted living, in-home care or nursing home care, you may be wondering what you can do to pay for these services and how much they can cost. Every visit paid by a therapist, home health aide or nurse that usually follows injuries, severe diseases or a hospitalization is usually covered by Medicaid, the VA, Medicare or private health insurance. However, there are several services that are not covered by any insurance or program. These services are usually offered through licensed home healthcare agencies and their costs can range between $10 and $100 per hour. Attributes that influence prices are location, as well as the care provider’s training level.
Bear in mind that home healthcare doesn’t have too many things in common with in-home care assistance. The latter one deals with activities such as: toileting, bathing, household tasks and security, and it implies different coverage possibilities and costs.
The great thing is that there are a plethora of options from which you can choose when it comes to paying for somebody’s home healthcare. The main ones are described below, in an attempt to make things easier for seniors who are not familiar with ways of paying for their home health care costs.
The Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Program
You are advised to check the eligibility for this type of pension, which can provide substantial financial help to people who need help with several daily activities such as bathing, eating, dressing, undressing, etc. In order to be financially qualified for this type of pension, the value of your assets needs to be lower than $80,000 (your home and vehicles are not included). Veterans can receive up to $1,600 every month, surviving spouses can receive up to $1,000, while couples of veterans and surviving spouses can receive even $1,900.
This program is more flexible when it comes to the value of your assets and it also features a greater level of assistance. However, you cannot benefit from both state aid programs and Veterans ones, so you are advised to evaluate both options in order to see which one of them features a greater assistance.
Medicaid
Medicaid offices can be found in every state, so all you have to do is find the nearest one and ask for information. Many of the programs offered by the state provide free assistance to people who do not benefit from any financial resources. This means that you are eligible in this program only if your assets value less than $2,000. However, the requirements are different from one state to another, so gathering all the needed information is compulsory. A search on the internet is an easier method of gathering data, since most of the Medicaid offices have their own websites. You can also look for state aid programs apart from Medicaid. Although many of these programs do not feature a monthly pension, they can offer you shelter, medicines, food and many other benefits.
Non-Profit Resources
When the methods mentioned above do not work, you can always try to get in touch with the nearest Agency for Aging. Such an agency can help you find all types of resources, such as elder abuse programs, elder refugee, meals on wheels, counseling, services of adult day care, as well as a number of volunteers who pay patients a visit periodically.
Eldercare.gov is a great asset when it comes to finding the nearest local community. They will provide you with services such as transportation, home health care, senior housing options, etc. Besides, they can even help you find financial assistance in case you meet all the requirements.
Private Insurance
Private insurance is a popular choice because it offers good coverage when it comes to home healthcare. Their sole disadvantage is that your loved one may be required to pay a fee. Private insurance coverage usually comprises retiree health insurance or health insurance which depends on your current employment (or on the employment of your spouse). If you want to gather more information about private insurance, you are advised to look it up on the internet, where you will definitely find a complete description of this service, as well as lots of interesting offers.
Family Support
Home health companies have started to develop free ways of allowing patients who need assisted living or in-home care to keep in touch with their relatives. These services are basically a personalized form of Facebook which addresses only to elderly patients who need care. This way, their families always stay updated about their condition and find out their needs in no time.
This type of feature can be used by elderly people who want to explain to their family the problems with which they are dealing, as well as to inform them about their needs. In this case, all you have to do is use this special page and ask the other family members whether they would agree to pay a small amount of money every month in order to help you or the person who needs help, pay for his assisted living.
Use Your Savings
In case you or the person you love needs this type of services, you should be aware that the person who provides assistance will not charge less than $20 per hour. Besides, the prices will be influenced by the time of day in which assistance is needed and by the level of care the patient needs.
In conclusion, people who need to benefit from assisted living facilities need to know that these services are available in a large variety of prices. The costs can exceed even $10,000 every month, depending on the amenities featured, the level of care offered and the location. Such high prices cannot be afforded by everybody unless a state-aid program or private insurance agencies get involved. In order to benefit from these services without having to worry about the inability to pay for them, you are advised to pick one of the methods described above and ask for help.