Ready for A$$I$TED LIVING?

Mom will turn 91 years young in early August, and up until about five weeks ago she still lived independently in her own home. This has not been without incident, but she was amazingly self-reliant until her first stroke about four years ago.

Recently her physical health resulted in a hospital stay followed by being transferred to a rehabilitation unit at a multi-stage retirement complex out of state in the town where she lives. This prompted an uncomfortable conversation about her ongoing care despite what I believe to have been good preparation by Mom, my sister and myself.

If you also have an aging parent, you may already know how difficult it can be both to discuss the transition to assisted living as well as to pay for it. Allow me to share further insight.

Mom is a smart, suborn, hard-working, frugal child of The Great Depression. You probably have someone like her who is your mother or grandmother. She stayed incredibly active well into her 80s, with her calendar often full of volunteer work and taking friends to their medical appointments. After a stroke, she worked hard to rehabilitate herself so that she could get back home.

We agreed to support her wish to return home on the condition that she have home healthcare support daily. I still remember her looking me in the eye and agreeing whole-heartedly to this condition. I was soon exasperated because after her first week she began reducing the hours of the home care staff, and I figured out I had been duped.

As a frugal child of the Great Depression, she could not stand paying someone to “sit with her” at her home. We tried to liken these wonderful care providers to a fireman: they often are idle but when needed you sure would be glad you had them. We would get a short reprieve, but then soon found her returning to a very sparse schedule of outside support. Then the most recent incident occurred.

LEVEL OF CARE

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

*ADL = Activities of Daily Living

Description

Many of us hope to be able to age gracefully in our own home and this certainly has been Mom’s goal. After caretaking for Dad until cancer finally took him at age 65, and seeing how difficult this was, one of the first things she did after his death in 1996 was to purchase a Long-Term Care (LTC) policy. Thanks to a 5% inflation rider recommended by her financial advisor, her benefit is still relevant today and covers even the most expensive level of care in the prominent assisted living center in her community.

If you are not aware of the costs of a non-medical home care provider relative to an assisted living alternative, put your coffee down before you read on. In Mom’s community, the lead assisted living provider offers the following levels of care:

Medication administration, standby assist for showers.

Level 1 and standby assist for ambulation, minimum assist for showers and dressing

Level 2 and full assist with showers and dressing, cueing for ADLs,* behavior management

Level 3 and two person assist for transfers, high risk for skin breakdown, incontinence care

A quick “back of the envelope” calculation in comparing home healthcare at $40/hour for a non-medical helper (can not administer medications, etc.) to assisted living reveals the following comparison:

Care Options

Assisted Living: 1

Assisted Living: 2

Assisted Living: 3

Assisted Living: 4

24 www.mapyourfuture.net.

Like us, when you are faced with the decision on how best to provide for the care and safety of a loved one, you will probably be first concerned about their safety. If your loved one’s best interest is not the same as their desire, this can be a difficult conversation. If your loved one is not prepared for the financial realities of care, a difficult conversation just became a whole lot more stressful. Long-term care is not covered by Medicare and is only covered by Medicaid once someone has become impoverished. Too often the scenario is Dad gets sick first and the couple’s live savings are depleted in order to provide his care, leaving insufficient resources for Mom. Adult children often find themselves having to make tough choices for significant expenses that were unprepared for. This reality combined with a desire to have control over one’s care while not being “a burden” often leads to these adult children looking for help to plan for their own, eventual needs.

Our team sees the sweet spot for applying for LTC coverage as being between ages 50 to 65 years. If looking into protecting your assets and independence has stayed on your perpetual “to-do” list, now is the time to call your independent financial advisor or call our team. We are here to help you assure your lifestyle and legacy.