How is home care paid for?
Answers
There are three main ways that home care is paid for: out of your own pocket, by a family member or with long-term care insurance.
Long-term care insurance can pay for qualifying home care and other long-term care needs. In fact, in a 2010 survey, the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance found that 10 leading long-term care insurers paid out $10.8 million daily, with about a third of that paying for qualifying home care.
There are many things to consider when purchasing long-term care insurance. For example, does your loved one want care from a professional or a family member? Some policies will pay for care, but require that it come from a certified caregiver and agency.
However, some seniors prefer to have a loved one care for them, which can be strenuous if that caregiver also must work full time to support his or her family. Some long-term care insurance policies allow your loved one to pay the family caregiver, eliminating this tension. To do this, you need to get a cash or indemnity policy.
Long-term care insurance may also cover expenses of updating the home so that your loved one can continue to age in place, even with changing needs. For example, if your loved one becomes wheelchair-bound, some policies will cover the expenses of building ramps or widening doorways to make the home wheelchair accessible.
Learn more about long-term care insurance at the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance Consumer Learning Center.
There are also options such as reverse mortgages and community-based services. Right at Home, an in-home care company, has a resource page about these options and more.
