Paying for Home Care

When you’re young, healthy, and independent, it’s hard to imagine ever needing help with anything—until you have a loved one who needs care. Once you start exploring ways to help a parent or grandparent stay safe and comfortable in their home, you may start looking ahead to your own future needs too.

According to recent surveys, over 90 percent of people 65 and older want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, even if they need some help to do so. Fortunately, most family members want the same for their loved ones.

The difficult question: How to pay for it?

YOUR PAYMENT OPTIONS

1. Long-term Care insurance
   • We work with many insurance providers (Genworth, BankersLife, Equilife, etc.) and can help you through the claims process. We send your provider invoices and care notes weekly, in order for you to be reimbursed as quickly as possible!
     • Some people assume that long-term care insurance is primarily for assisted living, but it usually pays for in-home care professionals too. As a result, you can be reimbursed for your payments to home care agencies that meet the requirements of your policy. If you’re planning for your own future, especially if you want to continue to live at home while receiving care, the earlier you start applying for long-term care, the better.
     • Using LTCi Benefits for Home Care
       In order to qualify to receive Long Term Care insurance (LTCi) benefits, most policies require a policyholder to need assistance with at least two Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or have cognitive impairment. Standard LTCi policies include 5 or 6 of the following ADLs:
       1. Ambulation (mobility and transfers)
       2. Bathing and Showering (washing the body)
       3. Grooming (including brushing, combing and styling hair or personal hygiene)
       4. Feeding (not including chewing or swallowing)
       5. Dressing
       6. Toileting (completing the act of urinating and defecating)
2. Life insurance – If you have a life insurance policy, you may be able to convert it into a long-term care benefit plan, providing cash monthly payouts for in-home care. Check with your insurance provider for details on your plan.
3. Use your personal assets
   Most families wind up using personal savings to meet the needs of caring for an older loved one. Paying out-of-pocket can pose a hardship for many family members if the person needing care doesn’t have enough savings or assets to cover their own needs. Here are some creative ways families manage the challenge:
   • Divvy up the duties – Call a family meeting with your loved one, their partner or spouse, your siblings, and other close family members to determine what needs to be done and who has the time, ability, or resources to do it. Family members who live farther away may be able to offer more financial help. Those living nearby may be able to assist with driving, shopping, or personal care. When outside help is needed, determine together how you will share the cost. It’s best to come to an agreement early and then adjust as the circumstances change.
   • Tap into home equity – If your loved one owns her own home, consider a home equity loan to defray the costs of professional in-home care.
   • Move in with Mom – Is there someone in the family who would be a good roommate and also could benefit from free room and board in exchange for help with dressing, cooking, cleaning, and walking the dog? A college student or single adult might be able to shrink out-of-pocket costs for caregiving by being there during non-work or school hours.
4. Access public programs
   These programs serve people with low incomes:
   • Medicaid covers some short-term care if you’ve had a hospital or skilled nursing stay or rehabilitation. We currently are not a Medicaid provider.
   • Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Advantage (MA) is one of the private plans that a senior can choose to augment their Medicare benefits. Since January 2019, Medicare Advantage plans have been federally authorized to provided custodial (hourly assistance by an aide) home assistance. This assistance is capped at 120 hours per year. As of late 2019, few MAs have moved to offer this added benefit. None are offering it in the Midwest as of late 2019. Over the next few years, we expect to see these offerings increase. Stay tuned!
   • Veterans Affairs (VA) provides veterans and eligible surviving spouses with some in-home care assistance through VA health benefits. If you are a Veteran, you and your spouse might be eligible for home care benefits under TWO different programs. The Veterans Administration Home and Community Based (HCB) OR the VeteransValourCARE.
   • Worker’s Compensation Insurance, Caring Companions Senior Home Care has provided up to 24/7 home care services to several clients through the years who required non-licensed (aide) care due to a catastrophic injury at work. Caring Companions has working relationships with local and national case management companies. We welcome calls from families, employers or case managers regarding our services in this area.
5. Compare long-term care costs
   Want more information? This helpful online tool lets you calculate the current costs of different types of care (daily, monthly, annually) in your state and future costs of care.

National Average Cost of Care

Paying for a professional caregiver can cost anywhere from minimum wage on the low end to more commonly between $20 and $40 an hour, depending on the services provided and where you live.