How to Pay for Nursing Home Care

There’s a very good chance that at some point, someone in your family will need to be placed under nursing home care. In fact, most people over the age of 65 will require long-term care at some point during their life, while 40% will need a brief period of care at the very least. Unfortunately, paying for a nursing home isn’t always easy. The cost of such care can be a serious financial headache to you, and your family. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to help ease your burden.

Planning for future nursing home care is not unlike planning for college. You should start saving well ahead of time, and have a plan in place. A long-term care insurance plan, such as Medigap, or a plan provided by your employer can really help offset the costs of living in a nursing home. Usually these plans have to be in place before any kind of event that would send someone to a nursing home, and is impossible to attain once a serious accident, or health problem has occurred. This needs to be considered, as the price of a private room in 2012 was estimated to be as much as $248 a day.

Check to see if Medicare will help cover the costs of sending your loved one to a nursing home. Medicaid provides coverage for short-term, or rehabilitation stays, but does not cover long-term care. In fact, Medicare will only cover up to the first 100 days of care, so keep that in mind when the need for a nursing home arises.

Medicaid can be a better option for some of those who don’t have the funds to provide nursing home care for a loved one. However, there are several different qualifications for Medicaid, as the program is meant to benefit those who truly need it. Make sure you qualify before seeking Medicaid assistance.