Did You Know Medicare Doesn’t Cover Most Long Term Care?

If you are planning ahead for the future of your older years and are assuming that Medicare might pick up the tab, if and when you need a nursing home, that’s not always the case. One of the biggest potential costs in your personal retirement could be the need for the expense for long term care.

In 2017, according to the research completed and shared in the Genworth Cost of Care Study, a private room in a nursing home cost over $97,000 on average across the country.

A room in an assisted living facility costs more than $45,000 and having a home health aide come to your personal home for 44 hours of care per week is nearly $50,000. Medicare provides for certain services when it comes to nursing, but not for custodial care which is often common with long term care needs.

Custodial care includes activities of daily living, such as dressing and bathing. Using a combination of a life insurance policy and long term care policy or covering these costs on your own is one way to ensure that you have money set aside to pay for long term care.

Many people are not in a financial situation to be able to afford time in a nursing home or even the support of a home health aide. Important planning in advance needs to be completed so that you can be clear about your financial picture and understand whether or not you might qualify for other options, such as Medicaid. Schedule a consultation with an elder lawyer to learn more and to set up a plan to protect you into the future.