(See Care Home Costs for more information on calculating the costs of Assisted Living Facilities.) PAYMENT OPTIONS Private Pay. The vast majority of residents in these homes are there as private pay residents—they or their families are paying for their care each month. There are a great variety of private funding sources used by individuals ranging from income and savings to reverse mortgages and family assistance. See the Links page for help in locating an Elder Care Attorney or Financial Planner specializing in Elder Care issues. Insurance. A few people these days have Long Term Care Insurance that pays for all or part of their costs in care facilities. If your loved one has such a policy be sure to examine it carefully for exactly what is covered to what level and for how long. The variations are many. Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a source available to person who are basically impoverished—without resources and with very little income. SSI will pay an Assisted Living Care Home approximately $1,000 per month (the amount is adjusted every year and a percentage of the money stays with the resident for personal expenses) to care for that person. Unfortunately it is becoming ever more difficult to find a care home that will accept that as payment for care, even when the person is healthy. People who have a dementing illness find it nearly impossible to be accepted in a care home on SSI. Some states do allow families to supplement the SSI amount to make placement easier. Medicaid (MediCal). Over the past several years many states have begun implementing the Federal Medicaid Waiver for Assisted Living. Under this program the federal government “waives” the requirement that Medicaid funds only be used to cover care at the skilled nursing level. It is then up to the states to implement a Medicaid Waiver program. Approximately half of the states have done this so far. This does open the door to an additional funding source. But in reality few families will benefit from this program at this stage. The person must qualify for Medicaid and care at the skilled nursing level (each state sets the specific parameters for qualification), be able to be cared for at the assisted level adequately and in most states there are a limited number of people who can be admitted into the program each year. Furthermore, a significant motive behind the program is to move Medicaid patients who are already in skilled nursing into the assisted level, this saving the states considerable money (as opposed to bringing new people onto the Medicaid program, which will ultimately cost the states more money). As this is a complex program that will be evolving in different ways in each state we simply encourage you to look into your state’s program for the current status. Simply by typing the words “Medicaid Waiver Program” and the name of your state in any major search engine should be able to get updated quickly.
|