What are our options for paying for my mother's assisted living housing costs?
My mother is 81 years old, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 8 years ago. Physically, she is the picture of health. She has been living in an assisted living facility for the last three years. In six months, her savings will have been depleted. My two siblings and I will have to start paying her bills, which, after deducting her Medicare, come to about $25,000 per year, nearly all of that being housing/care costs. My first question is this: am I right in surmising that there really is little if any financial help we can get for my mother? She is not yet ready, physically or mentally, for a nursing home, so Medicaid, I think is not yet an option. My second question is this: my siblings and I are thinking it might be easier on us to get a lump sum loan to pay for her bills for one year (thereby allowing us to pay off the loan over the course of a few years), at which time we think she might be ready for a nursing home that Medicaid may help pay for. Are there loans like that available, or would we just have to try to get a regular personal loan. My sister is the only one of us who has a mortgage, so I don't think we can do any finagling in that area. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Expert Answer
Hi Robert, Once personal savings are depleted, there is no source of financial assistance to cover the costs of housing or care except for certain long-term care insurance policies and Medicaid. This is why reverse mortgages have become popular in recent years. This option allows a homeowner to tap into the equity in their home (assuming it has equity) while the person who inherits the home inherits the mortgage and can pay it off over time. Similarly, funds acquired through a personal loan could be used for care and paid off over time - unfortunately I’m not aware of any additional types of loans that could be used for this purpose.