Are you having problems affording long term care for an elderly loved one? Or, do you have concerns about how you would pay for it in the future? There are a number of options available to you that can either lower your costs or eliminate them altogether, if you know where to look. First, you should be looking at the free programs out there, since those will benefit you the most.
Insurance policies are a good place to start. In California, there are a number of policies that can help you, including both private and public policies. Medi-Cal (Medicaid) is widely used for low income families, but not all people qualify for this. Those that do can often get their care, sometimes including in-home care, for a reduced price or even free. Private insurances often include some sort of long term care policy coverage, too, but when it comes down to it, these are usually inadequate for more severe needs, especially if they are prolonged in their nature. For these instances, a specific long term care policy is the best thing to have. The cost for this on a monthly or yearly basis is going to be lower the younger you are, and even if you buy a policy at a young age, you are going to pay much less over the course of several years than you would for senior care for even a short while. You can save on costs even further by purchasing a policy specific for in-home care. A private policy can also give you more freedom when it comes to choosing the caregiver that you want, rather than what your Medi-Cal provider suggests for you.
The California Partnership for Long-Term Care is another thing that you should be considering, especially if you are not yet at a point where you need senior care at this moment. This non-profit organization has dedicated themselves to helping California residents learn how to better plan for their long term care needs. It also has some great tools for financial planning and coming up with ways to afford the necessary care without spending your entire life savings. For those people looking for additional help, they have set up a website that can be a big benefit to you. You can find calculators and planning tools at www.RUReadyCA.org.
If you have an elderly parent that is a veteran, the VA may also be able to help you with in-home care or assisted living. There are also health care benefits that the VA can help you with, which is a huge help when it comes to offsetting medical costs and hospital bills.
Finally, consider programs that can help train family members to give proper care. These can be found with insurance companies sometimes, but private and public organization also provide training classes, too. These can help you to make sure that your family members are as safe and healthy as possible even when they are not under the care of a professional caregiver. Some insurance policies will even pay for this training to save you even more money.
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