“How much will this cost?” is often one of the first questions asked by adult children of elder parents living in the Northshore area that is requiring more care at home. And the answer can be frustrating and seem futile for those who are already feeling overwhelmed – “It depends.”
There are a number of factors that can determine the cost of in-home care. First, location matters. The hourly costs for in-home care services differ not just from state to state but from city to city, as well as agency to agency. Next, the level of care your elderly loved ones need can also affect the cost. Determining how much help your family member needs can be done during an in-home evaluation and if more medical care is determined to be needed, costs can increase. Finally, having an insured, , background-checked and specially trained caregiver means a higher quality of care, which may come at a price.
“Over the past 40 years, Genworth has worked hard to educate today’s families on the need to plan for the significant financial risk that long term care could impose on them,” said Tom McInerney, Genworth president and chief executive officer. “With the number of Americans over 65 projected to double over the next 40 years, continued increases in the cost of care and limited public financing options available to cover these costs, long term care is one of the most important social issues of our time.”
All long-term care costs— nursing home, assisted living, and in-home care—are increasing each year. According to Genworth, “the cost to receive care in an assisted living facility is rising at a much faster rate [than home care]. The median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility is $42,000. This represents an increase of 4.29 percent annually over the past five years. The comparable cost for a private nursing home room is $87,600, which has increased 4.19 percent annually over the past five years.”
Deciding on a long-term care plan is different for each family, but regardless of preference in home care vs. nursing home, experts advise starting an honest conversation with loved ones today to be prepared for costs. Find out who in your family has a long-term care insurance policy, which might help with these costs.
What Are You Shopping For?
Although cost is an important factor to consider when researching long-term care for your loved ones, asking “What exactly do I need?” is also a very important question. In some cases a doctor may order the specific type of care that is needed after a surgery, diagnosis, or discharge and even recommend a specific company to call. When that doesn’t happen, take a step back and figure out the problem and then how to solve it. Are you spending several hours a week running errands like picking up groceries and medications for an elder loved one who no longer drives? A professional caregiver can come help with cover these errands, leaving you to enjoy leisure activities with your loved one on the weekend instead. If your loved one seems lonely while you are at work all day, a professional caregiver can provide companionship and spend time engaging in her favorite activities with her. A professional caregiver can provide assistance during bathing and medication reminders too.
You may also need to take into consideration if your loved one is needing additional care such as at-home physical therapy, wound care, prescription management and pain management, that may come with extra costs. In addition, your loved ones needs can change over time and that too will affect costs.
Check out the Genworth Long-term Care Costs https://www.genworth.com/long-term-care-insurance/source/make-a-plan/ltc-insurance-calculator.html to begin your research.
For more information on long term care, long term care insurance and our long term care insurance claims processing services, call us today at (847) 603-2367
