According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services most Americans who are fortunate enough to reach the age 65 are going to need assistance with their day-to-day needs before it is all said and done. With this in mind preparing for the possibility of long-term care costs is a must for serious minded individuals.
If you are under the impression that Medicare will take care of this you would do well to look into the matter a bit more closely. In fact, Medicare won’t pay for an extended stay in an assisted living community or a nursing home.
You could resolve to pay out-of-pocket. However, if you do your pockets are going to have to be rather deep. When you combine the average length of stay with the average costs associated with nursing home care you could well be looking at an expense that reaches the six figures.
There are some steps that you can take to prepare yourself. Obviously you should do everything possible to accumulate a strong financial underpinning leading into retirement, and you may well be able to take care of some or all of these expenses out-of-pocket.
One could also purchase long-term care insurance. It is rather expensive, but the younger you are when you obtain the coverage the less costly it will be.
Another possibility for some people is to angle toward Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid will pay for long-term care under certain circumstances, but there are upper resource limits that you must stay within to become eligible for the program.
To be comprehensively prepared for the future you would do well to take long-term care costs seriously. If you would like to develop a cogent strategy for aging the intelligent first step is to set up an informative consultation with a licensed and experienced elder law attorney.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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