Long Term Care Insurance: is a separate insurance policy purchased to cover a variety on long term care needs. Almost all Long Term Care policies will cover various services and supports to meet health or personal care needs over an extended period of time. Most long term care is non-skilled personal care assistance, such as help performing everyday Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s). For more information about ADL’s see our ADL section.

The goal of Long Term Care is to help maximize the independence and abilities for those who are unable to be fully independent.

Who Needs Long Term Care?

There are various reasons why an individual or family would want long term care. Typically, Long-term care is needed when you have a chronic illness or disability that causes a need for assistance with the Activities of Daily Living. An illness or disability could include a problem with memory loss, confusion, disorientation. This is typically called a Cognitive Impairment and can result from conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Longtermcare.gov website, about 70 percent of individuals over age 65 will require at least some type of long-term care services during their lifetime. Over 40 percent will need care in a nursing home for some period of time. Factors that increase your risk of needing long-term care are:

• Age – The risk generally increases as you get older.
• Marital Status – Single people are more likely to need care from a paid provider.
• Gender – Women are at a higher risk than men, primarily because they tend to live longer.
• Lifestyle – Poor diet and exercise habits can increase your risk.
• Health and Family History – also impact your risk.

Many individuals who need long term care develop this need over an extended period of time. They may need some light help and assistance a few times a week and progress into full service care. This progression often occurs as age, disability or chronic illness become more debilitating, causing a need for care on a continual basis. At Care To Stay Home, we understand that your needs may change at any time. Our Care Managers can help plan with your family to make sure your care needs are fully met.

We have been working with a wide variety of Long Term Care Insurance companies to assist our clients in receiving their benefits. We assist with the initial paperwork to initiate a claim, the development of a Plan of Care, all billing and care notes required for long term care reimbursement and ongoing support. If you’d like us to research a policy to see if home care services are included, please contact our Care Managers.

Care To Stay Home works with Long Term Care Insurance to pay for in home care services.

VA Aid & Attendance Benefit Pension: This benefit is available to war era veterans and their surviving spouses who require assistance with their activities of daily living. This benefit can supplement the cost for in home care services. This benefit is often overlooked or in many cases unknown to family members and veterans. The VA does not normally contact veterans to inform them about available benefits.

The Aid and Attendance Pension provides benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who need further assistance with bathing, dressing, personal care needs and other Activities of Daily Living needs. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies.

To qualify for Aid & Attendance:

• At least 90 days of active duty, but need not have served in combat
• One day of active duty during a period of war
• Discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable
• It needs to be established by your physician that you require daily assistance by others to dress, undress, bathing, cooking, eating, taking on or off of prosthesis’s, leave home etc. You DO NOT have to require assistance with all of these. There simply needs to be adequate medical evidence that you cannot function completely on your own.

Here are the 2014 Maximum Monthly Pension Rates for Aid and Attendance

• Veteran, Married (1 Dependent) $2,085
• Veteran, Single $1,738
• Surviving Spouse $1,130
• Veterans married to another Veteran $2,675

Source: War Era Veterans Alliance

(Benefit awards are paid directly to the veteran or widower monthly)

For more information about this benefit, contact our office  at 800-828-9777 or click here.

Payment Options for In Home Care

Determining if in home care services are appropriate for you or your loved one can be a daunting task. Our professionally trained Care Managers can help. At Care To Stay Home we understand that families need to evaluate their care needs based on multiple factors, not just the immediate need for care. Evaluating the level of care required as well as the financial cost of care can be critical in determining in home care services.

The majority of individuals use private funds to pay for in home care services. Our Personal Care Attendants provide non-medical in home care, not medical care. Therefore, traditional health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for these services. Families most commonly use Social Security, Long Term Care Insurance, Veterans Benefits, pensions, savings, home equity and other liquid assets to help pay for in home care services. Services are typically billed on an hourly or flat daily live-in rate.

There are many different ways to fund care for your loved one. Often times a combination of various different payment methods can assist in providing for the long term care needs. There are various sources that may assist in covering the cost for in home care. During our initial assessment, our Care Managers strive to understand the various financial situations for each client to help determine the appropriate plan of care and funding sources available.

Here is an overview of the various funding sources and what is covered under each program:

Medicare, which typically covers some long-term care, some skilled nursing care either in a skilled nursing facility or in home through Home Health and Hospice care. Medicare does not pay for our services.

Medicaid, is a partially funded but state run health care coverage to certain low-income individuals. Each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services provided.Care To Stay Home does not accept Medicaid funding or payment.

Long Term Care Insurance, can cover anything from non-medical in home care to nursing care. Policies are generally purchased through an insurance broker and different provisions can be added for certain benefits. There may be waiting periods or waivers of premiums based on the policy. We have been working with a wide variety of Long Term Care Insurance companies to assist our clients in receiving their benefits. We assist with the initial paperwork to initiate a claim, the development of a Plan of Care, all billing and care notes required for long term care reimbursement and ongoing support. If you’d like us to research a policy to see if home care services are included, please contact our Care Managers. Care To Stay Home works with Long Term Care Insurance to pay for in home care services.

Veterans Administration Aid & Attendance Benefit Pension: This benefit is available to war era veterans and their surviving spouses who require assistance with their activities of daily living. This benefit can supplement the cost for in home care services. This benefit is often overlooked or in many cases unknown to family members and veterans. The VA does not normally contact veterans to inform them about available benefits. Care To Stay Home can help your family find out more information about this government program.