If You're Interested in Assisted Living & Asset Protection,
Here's How To Be Prepared
November 4, 2004
By Monish Datta
National statistics say 44% of those who
reach age 65 will spend at least some time in a nursing
facility. 53% of those patients will receive care
for at least one year; 1 in 5 will need care for five
years or more. The cost of long-term care could overwhelm
your retirement savings. The average cost of one year
in a nursing home is now $70,000, according to a just-released
study, and full-time, home health-care can be even
more expensive. How does a person prepare for the
massive financial burden of long-term care? Planning
for assisted living & asset protection is crucial
and can provide you with much relief when you
most need it.
The cost of long term care varies widely depending on
your nursing care plans, how extensive that care must be, and the
setting where it is provided (at home or in a residential facility).
Costs also vary widely depending on where you live (your state and
whether you live in a rural community or a large city).
On average, however, assisted living is less expensive
than a comparable amount of care at home or in nursing homes. Nationally,
assisted living costs an average of $2,926 a month. Unfortunately,
Medicare pays nothing for long-term care, regardless of where it
is provided. Medicaid rarely pays for care in your home, in a community
setting, or in an assisted living facility.
Look over your finances with the goal of stretching your available
funds to last as long as possible. That may mean you won't be able
to afford to live in the most luxurious facility. But, assisted
living is not as expensive as it seems at first. Instead, to an
extent that varies from one person to another, it simply involves
a shift of expenses from one living arrangement into another.
If you want to have the option of assisted living in the future,
you must prepare to pay for it. That takes some advance planning,
in asset protection and setting aside sufficient funds for savings
and/or investment
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