Mar
6
Is Long-Term Care More Important to Women Than Men?
Filed Under Kansas City Elder Care, Kansas and Missouri Alzheimer's Care, Kansas and Missouri Nursing Homes | 6 Comments
I could hear the panic in Mary’s voice. Her husband Joe’s health had been steadily declining for years, and Mary has been his primary caregiver. But last week he fell at home, breaking his hip, and now he’s in a subacute facility. The recovery process hasn’t gone well, in part because of Joe’s age and partly because of the toll that Alzheimer’s has taken on his mind. Mary is now facing the prospect of either long term care at a cost of $11,000 per month or, in an effort to keep the cost down, trying to bring him home and provide much of the care herself, supplementing it with a few hours of home aide assistance. “Joe never wanted to talk about long term care and so we never did plan for this,” she tells me. It’s a classic scenario and one that, so often, is more damaging to the wife than the husband. How so?
Mary’s situation is a typical one. At 72, she’s six years younger than Joe. Add the fact that women have a longer life expectancy than men and chances are that the husband will need long term care first. And if the couple hasn’t planned for it, they’ll likely spend most of their savings on his care. Mary and Joe have $400,000 of assets plus their house. Without any guidance Mary could be left with as little as $109,000 and the house before the State will help pay for Joe’s care.
What about their income? Mary will lose much of that towards Joe’s care. He has Social Security of $1,500 and a pension of $2,500 while Mary has only Social Security of $500 because she spent many years tending to the needs of her family. She’ll get to keep approximately $1,500 of Joe’s income when he qualifies for Medicaid, not enough to meet her expenses. Then, when he dies, she’ll take another hit, because Joe chose the maximum pension for his life. There is no survivor option for Mary. Add to that the fact that she will only receive one Social Security check (Joe’s because it is the larger of the two) and her income will drop to $1,500. It, therefore, is so important for Mary to protect as much of their assets as she can to replace the income she loses.
And when Mary does need care it will likely be more expensive and difficult to administer. Why? Because she won’t have a healthy spouse living with her to care for her at home. Chances are she’ll need to hire more care, and she’ll be more likely to need nursing home care earlier. Her children will need to take on a greater role to fill the void.
One more thing. Mary’s concern about keeping costs down is causing her to take on more of the caregiver role herself. That can take a physical and emotional toll and may contribute to a more rapid decline in Mary’s health. Had the couple planned for this possibility well in advance, tapping into available sources of payment such as long term care insurance or government benefits, Mary would be more inclined to pay for additional help.
When you consider all these factors together, it becomes clear that, for many couples, it is the woman who is at greater risk. Mary now realizes it, too. Fortunately, she isn’t too late in reaching out to us. While it would have been better had she called us sooner, we can still help her protect something.
Jun
27
Selecting a Kansas or Missouri Nursing Home or Assisted Living Facility
Filed Under Kansas City Assisted Living, Kansas and Missouri Nursing Homes | 6 Comments
When someone is faced with the overwhelming job of finding a nursing home for a loved one in Kansas or Missouri, the question often asked is, “Where do I begin?†Although this is a job that no one wants to do, it can be done with forethought and confidence that the best decision was made for everyone involved.
When nursing home placement in Kansas City or surrounding areas is necessary, it is crucial that the family and/or potential resident decide what’s most important to them in looking for a facility. It is important that the resident’s needs and wants be included in the evaluation. Things such as location of the facility, if a special care unit is necessary and type of payer source should be considered when beginning this process.
Apr
21
Get Good Nursing Home Care in Kansas and Missouri
Filed Under Kansas and Missouri Nursing Homes | 7 Comments
Know the signs to watch for and the questions to ask
Placing a loved one in a long-term care facility is one of the most difficult decisions a family can make. Along with the often overwhelming sense of guilt, there are often an overwhelming number of choices. So, how do you find the best facility for your loved one? [Continue Reading...]
Dec
26
A Power of Attorney is one of the most important legal documents a person can have. Without a comprehensive power of attorney, many people are unable to handle their loved ones financial matters nor make health care decisions without seeking court intervention (Guardianship and/or Conservatorship). We often have clients come into our office assuming that just because their assets are titled jointly with their spouse, parent or partner, that they are able to liquidate accounts to pay bills, hire attorneys, sell their jointly titled real estate, etc. Unfortunately, that isn’t that case. In fact, we recently had a client come into our office who had a jointly titled investment account with his wife whom had just entered a nursing home. Without going into great detail, he did not have a power of attorney for his wife and he was unable to transfer the assets into his name to do some Medicaid planning. Instead, he had to petition the court to become his wife’s Conservator and spent tens of thousands of dollars on her nursing home care when he could have, had she had a proper power of attorney, transferred the account into his name, alone, purchased an annuity for himself and qualified her for Medicaid immediately. [Continue Reading...]
Dec
23
Personal Care Contracts
Filed Under Kansas and Missouri Medicaid, Kansas and Missouri Nursing Homes | 2 Comments
Millions of Americans are currently caring for an elderly family member or friend, without receiving compensation. Depending on the circumstances, however, it may actually be beneficial for both parties to enter into a care contract wherein the caregiver accepts payment for the care they are providing their loved one and also formally assumes responsibility for that care.
For loved ones still at home
If the loved one you are caring for reaches a point where nursing home placement is the only option, all of their money will be considered available to pay for their care at the nursing home and they will not be eligible for Medicaid assistance until all of their assets have been depleted. Certainly the care they were provided by you, while they remained in the community, is just as valuable to them and worthy of payment as that they will be provided in the nursing home. With a care contract in place, they can pay their caregiver, and every penny spent will count towards their “Medicaid spend down†should they apply for benefits.
It is important to note that without a proper contract in place, Medicaid will assume the money paid is a “gift†or a “transfer of assets†and will impose penalties resulting in ineligibility for Medicaid benefits. [Continue Reading...]