By Vannah Rose Roberto, Senior Concierge Advisor
One of the main factors of considering senior living is knowing how you or your loved one will be able to afford it. There are a couple ways that a senior can qualify and afford senior care. You may not know that Medicare coverage can only go so far by treating acute needs, such as hospital stay or rehabilitation, but Medicare does not cover any long-term needs for seniors such as the cost of living or care.
If you are not sure where to start, ask your loved one if they have acquired a Long-Term Care (LTC) Policy that they may have signed up for years ago. Most policies will cover senior living and care based on specific qualifications your loved one may have signed up for under the policy. LTC policies cover different levels of care all within the policy of your choice, including private in-home caregiver, nursing home, assisted living, adult family home and/or memory care. These policies may or may not have a waiting period for start of care and may also have a duration in which the policy will be good for in active standing. We can assist in going over each policy to assure your loved one meets the criteria to admit into senior living and start receiving care.
If your loved one has not acquired a long-term care policy, ask about their assets and what is readily available, for example, what is available in checking and savings? Are there any retirement accounts they have access too? Perhaps they own a home they are looking to sell? All these questions may lead to knowing how much your loved one can afford and the duration of time they can sustain before needing state Medicaid assistance.
Lastly, if your loved one does not have a LTC policy nor do they have any assets or funds available to pay privately for senior living, they may qualify for state Medicaid assistance. To qualify for Medicaid, your loved one must meet an income limit – for the state of WA, a single person may qualify for Medicaid if they have income under $2,700/month, have assets under $2,000.00, and require the level of care provided in a nursing home, such as assistance in any activities of daily living. To learn more about Medicaid under WA state, here is the direct link to the Medicaid portal for eligibility and application process: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/how-apply-medicaid.
Whatever the financial status of your loved one may be, we are able to guide you into what may be your next steps through this process. Our qualified advisors can walk you through what may be needed to qualify for senior living and care. To be connected to an advisor near you, give us a call at 1855-444-7364.