A study by Health Affairs predicted that 54% of middle-income seniors would have insufficient financial resources to cover housing and personal care needs by 2029. Even today, millions of American seniors are struggling to pay for care services. Many seniors don't receive the care they deserve because they don't have enough saved money, or in some cases, because they don’t know there are options that can help cover the cost of care.
That's why we’ve listed six financing options and benefits seniors can consider to pay for their long-term care. Learning this can help lessen the financial burden on seniors or families paying for care services.
This is the most common option for paying for senior care. The following are forms of private funds.
Any of these options can help fund senior housing and care needs.
Medicaid can help cover a fraction of the health care cost for home care or community-based services. People with low-income may be eligible to receive financial assistance that families can use to pay for care expenses. However, not everyone is eligible for this because each state has its own guidelines and eligibility standards.
Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits are given to veterans on top of their basic VA pension benefits. These extra benefits can help cover care spendings, such as assisted living costs, in-home care services, and more. Particular requirements need to be met to be eligible for this.
A veteran is eligible for Aid and Attendance benefit if he or she needs regular assistance to perform everyday functions, such as bathing, eating, and dressing. In addition, a veteran may also qualify if he or she is:
A reverse mortgage is a form of equity release (or lifetime mortgage). It is a cash loan that homeowners take against their home's equity. The cash can be used to cover the cost of memory care services.
Homeowners may take the mortgage principal in a lump sum, in monthly payments over a specified term or over their (joint) lifetimes, as a revolving line of credit, or some combination thereof.
Your life insurance policy is another possible source of funds for paying memory care. There are drawbacks to using life insurance to meet immediate cash needs, especially if you’re compromising your long-term goals or your family’s financial future. Nevertheless, if a senior has very limited options, life insurance, especially cash-value life insurance, can be a source of funds.
A long-term care policy is a type of insurance to help pay for future care needs. If purchased during typical healthy ages of 30’s, 40’s, or even in 50’s, it can have low premiums and prove to be a valuable and effective resource to preserve an individual’s personal savings, assets, and family inheritance, in times of long term care needs.
This can help cover a host of care services that regular health insurance doesn’t cover. This can help people with chronic conditions or disabilities pay for long-term care services given at home, adult day care, nursing home, or memory care communities.
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