Will You be Among the Many Not Welcome at Assisted Living Facilities?

So why would you or your loved ones be Not Welcome at Assisted Living Facilities? It’s not personal about you or your looks, it’s your ability to pay for the care they provide.  Most Americans cannot afford to pay $5000 a month for hands on care or $8000 a month for dementia care (dementia care is half of all Long-Term Care).

A lot of people tell me that somebody has to take care of you.  Yes, that is true, but it won’t be the kind of care or the location of care you might want.

A welfare program called Medicaid pays for about half of all Long-Term Care (LTC) in America.  It pays the providers much less than it costs to provide that care.

Can you lose money on every client and make it up with volume?

Neither can the care providers.  Thus they must cost shift the bills to those who can pay their own way, and limit how many people on Medicaid they allow in.  They can (they must) limit how many people on Medicaid they lose money on, in order to keep the doors open.  Thus they can, and do, say you’re Not Welcome at Assisted Living Facilities at the door to people who are on or qualified for Medicaid.  Many will not let you in unless you can prove the ability to pay for your care for two years.

Thus you keep looking for room at the inn.  Maybe it’s a county home, there are many of these scattered all over Wisconsin.  Most are losing money and the county taxpayers are supporting their losses.  Those taxpayers want to close the facility to eliminate the financial drain and the resulting property tax increases.

Nursing homes will also accept you on Medicaid, but several recent newspaper articles talked of how we are losing nursing homes in Wisconsin.  Nursing homes make their money on the short term rehab they provide to people who transferred there after a hospital stay to finish recovering.  Medicare (health insurance) pays them handsomely for this care.  Most people living in a nursing home quickly go broke and end up on Medicaid.

If nursing homes want the good paying rehab business, they have to take the Medicaid losses.  They will also take you on Medicaid, but do you really want to live there, simply because you are broke?

So what is the answer?  Be rich and able to pay for whatever LTC you will need, or do like we do to protect our cars and homes in case of accidents or storms – buy insurance.  LTC insurance pays for care at home, adult day care, assisted living type facilities and nursing homes.  But in most cases it is what keeps you OUT of a nursing home!

You cannot buy LTC insurance once your health record shows evidence of things that might cause you to need care.  Forties and fifties is the time to get this, but a few people in their sixties in excellent health (no diabetes, arthritis, back trouble, osteoporosis, etc.) can still qualify, but it is more expensive then.

I have this insurance and will be able to pay for whatever care I might someday need.  Every facility in town wants me – and I’m not that good looking.

What if I never need care?  I could die peacefully in my sleep at 99.  Then the insurance will be as wasted as all those years you paid for car or homeowners insurance and did not have an accident or a tornado destroy your home.

By the way, the odds of an auto accident this year are 1 in 240.  A homeowners insurance claim is 1 in 1800.  But Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington says that once we reach age 65, there is a 70% chance we will need some LTC.

Do you feel lucky today?  If not, contact us to investigate this together.  Don’t be one of those families burdened when you’re Not Welcome at Assisted Living Facilities.  Most people do not need as much LTC insurance as they might think.  Many things need to be taken into consideration and we have been doing nothing but LTC planning for 25 years now.  We know what to ask, and can even help those who did not plan ahead but now need care.

Visit us at www.TheLongTermCareGuy.com

Call (920) 884-3030 to schedule a free consultation!