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Keeping long-term care costs down

On Behalf of | Apr 8, 2016 | Trusts |

One of the needs individuals can have as they grow older are long-term care needs. Federal estimates predict that, currently, the likelihood of needing some sort of such care at some point in the future is about 70 percent for individuals turning 65. 

Long-term care needs have the potential to pose financial challenges for an elderly individual and their family, as long-term care costs can end up reaching pretty high amounts. 

So, keeping long-term care costs down is something elderly individuals and their families may care about considerably. There are various things that may be able to help with keeping long-term care costs from getting higher than they need to be.

One is catching health or mental issues early and addressing such issues in an appropriate manner when they arise. When such issues go undetected or unaddressed, they could lead to crises occurring, and crises can lead to a person having more expensive long-term care needs.

Another thing that can help is doing careful research on available options when long-term care needs arise. There are many different kinds of long-term care sources, including nursing homes, adult day cares, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities, hired home care and family-provided care. These different options can vary quite a bit in degree of care provided, what sorts of situations they are intended for and costs. Careful research on the options in the area and their costs can help with getting an elderly individual matched with the care option best-suited for them. This might be able to prevent costly situations from arising such as a person paying for care services they don’t actually need or crises happening as a result of a person not getting as much care as they need.

As one can see from this, proper preparation and planning can be key when it comes to keeping long-term care costs down. Good planning can also be important when it comes to other long-term care issues, such as government benefits issues. One type of complex government benefits issue that can arise in connection to long-term care are Medicaid issues. Advanced Medicaid planning, which can involve a variety of mechanisms (such as trusts), can help with getting a person in a solid position for dealing with potential future long-term-care-related Medicaid issues.

Source: Bankrate, “5 ways to save on the high cost of long-term care,” Donna Fuscaldo, Accessed April 8, 2016

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