Tell me this isn't so...

[MikeP]

Not to make this a thread all doom and gloom, but considering I am just in the middle of trying to convince my parents that they need to move into full time residential care i just got sent this...

Care Home Funding – A Guide from Caring Homes


I'm panicking about whether i have enough save up, let alone what my parents may have for this sort of care?


Anyone else experienced these sort of numbers when looking into care?

[target2019]

I posted costs in another thread recently. In the US costs are very high. Without insurance, which does run out, you end up spending down all assets, then look at govt assistance.

I would look at in home care first. It may work.

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 I posted costs in another thread recently. In the US costs are very high. Without insurance, which does run out, you end up spending down all assets, then look at govt assistance. I would look at in home care first. It may work.

Thats what i have been looking into, but the costs are crazy for in house round the clock care. It's got to the stage where my parents need 24hour care, i fear there is no other option.

[Davis65]

I'm earmarking our home as insurance against long-term care costs. This has worked for my mother: she now has full-time care at home, and her investments will be depleted some time next year. This doesn't concern me as she is sitting on a valuable property that can be sold to pay for a nursing home, or can be reverse-mortgaged if somehow she is still able to live at home, which seems unlikely.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeP Thats what i have been looking into, but the costs are crazy for in house round the clock care. It's got to the stage where my parents need 24hour care, i fear there is no other option.

Round the clock in-home would definitely put you beyond full time cost in a facility.

$300 per day works out to be $109,500 for a facility. That's an average of $12.50 per hour.

In the home you might pay $15-20 per hour for an aide if you used an agency.

You can see why some would bring an illegal into the situation. You could find someone and give them shelter and income for 1/3 the cost of other options. But you'd need to pay taxes, insurance, and so on. Then cover the time when the aide wouldn't be there. Then replace them when they got a better offer.

In-laws' home may have peaked at $200K, but the market took that way down. It was sold for $125K, with an offer for $150K left on the table. Still, this is a drop in the bucket. In their case the home was a nice place to raise a family, but not a good place to live if you can't prepare a meal or take care of the laundry.

[ArkTinkerer]

Had one relative transition gradually from cleaning service to part time care (private arrangement--not a service so it was much less expensive) to assisted living, moved to assisted living center, full time care, finally hospice. The first stages were done with private individuals. Other than paying the taxes and some paperwork it was much easier on everyone and allowed them to stay home longer. The assisted living center was designed to allow them to transition in place--mainly by changing from going to a common dining area to having food brought to the room.

Such arrangements may be much less expensive in this region than on the coasts.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeP Not to make this a thread all doom and gloom, but considering I am just in the middle of trying to convince my parents that they need to move into full time residential care i just got sent this... Care Home Funding – A Guide from Caring Homes I'm panicking about whether i have enough save up, let alone what my parents may have for this sort of care? Anyone else experienced these sort of numbrers when looking into care?

Are you or your parents in the United Kingdom? The link is to residential care there. Those prices are actually pretty good.

Sorry you are dealing with this--maybe a discussion with your parents will uncover some savings or ltc insurance they have to help with the cost.

[EastWest Gal]

I'm a bit confused. OP is in Arizona but the website is UK. If your parents are in the UK, it looks like they have a system of means testing which allows aid for people in their situation. Seems better than in the U.S., where we don't have a system. However, you are dealing with this at a great distance, which is a big problem.

It also looks cheaper than here in the U.S. Long term care is expensive. In home care is more expensive and IMO less reliable. What happens when someone fails to show up for their shift?


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Are you or your parents in the United Kingdom? The link is to residential care there. Those prices are actually pretty good. Sorry you are dealing with this--maybe a discussion with your parents will uncover some savings or ltc insurance they have to help with the cost.

hi there, they are yes. i am aswell in the UK at the moment and finding it so difficult to broach the subject!

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastWest Gal I'm a bit confused. OP is in Arizona but the website is UK. If your parents are in the UK, it looks like they have a system of means testing which allows aid for people in their situation. Seems better than in the U.S., where we don't have a system. However, you are dealing with this at a great distance, which is a big problem. It also looks cheaper than here in the U.S. Long term care is expensive. In home care is more expensive and IMO less reliable. What happens when someone fails to show up for their shift? Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

hi EastWestGal, im in the UK at the moment with my parents. should have made that clear so apologies.

I completley agree with home care, where is the acxcountability when my own parents won't even be aware of whether someone was meant to show up?!

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeP hi there, they are yes. i am aswell in the UK at the moment and finding it so difficult to broach the subject!

Are they covered by the UK healthcare system?

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Are they covered by the UK healthcare system?

They are but that only covers so much, looking at this guide it's almost as if you are being punished for not earning enough or earning to much? doesn't seem right to me!

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeP They are but that only covers so much, looking at this guide it's almost as if you are being punished for not earning enough or earning to much? doesn't seem right to me!

I w*rk with a co-w*rker in the UK, and I was discussing the care for my father. I just "assumed" everything was "free" over there. (Media here in the U.S. make it sound like we are the only place on earth that pays for anything care related: hospital, nursing, dental, etc.)

He educated me on that pretty fast since he had a parent in care. Your web site aligns with his story. In the end, there are many similarities to what we went through with my dad.

[rodi]

Care options vary a LOT by geography.

Here in the US we looked at options for the in-laws in the three states that had family to support the in-laws, emotionally/day-to-day. I was surprised that California was only slightly higher than Kentucky, and Pennsylvania (specifically Philly region) blew the budget the most. FIL spent his last 8 months in a nursing home in Kentucky and it cost about $6k/month when all the fees, prescriptions, services were added into the bill. We had quotes from homes in the Philly area (where MIL wants to be) that *started* at 8K/month (and you can easily count on another $500 in miscellaneous charges/month). We're currently in active discussion with two assisted living places in the Philly area - they are running about $5k/month.

These are not gold plated, super high end places - but clean, well staffed, albeit a bit worn down.

My MIL pays $4k/month for an "independent" apartment in an assisted living community here in San Diego. Her apartment is a 1 bedroom with a kitchenette. She pays more than the folks across the hall because hers has an ocean view. At the same facility they have a memory care "courtyard" - and I have quotes for $6k/month for a studio cottage - meals included. That was a lot less than I expected.

Getting old is expensive. MIL has a paid for house and some savings. She can pay a few years in a home before going onto medicaid. At 88 I don't see her needing more than a few years.

For ourselves - we have a paid for house that is worth a lot. If one of us needs care we'll sell, the community spouse will downsize into a condo and the equity extracted will pay for the care for the one who needs it. If both need it - no condo - just a lot of extracted equity to pay for many years.

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I w*rk with a co-w*rker in the UK, and I was discussing the care for my father. I just "assumed" everything was "free" over there. (Media here in the U.S. make it sound like we are the only place on earth that pays for anything care related: hospital, nursing, dental, etc.) He educated me on that pretty fast since he had a parent in care. Your web site aligns with his story. In the end, there are many similarities to what we went through with my dad.

Hi Joe,
Thats a valid point, i get that a lot that there is this perception that a lot of the UK is free. Don't know how that started but it looking at the cost of care it is crazy.

[jim584672]

Where I am average nursing home cost is $12,000 per month.

[MikeP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 Where I am average nursing home cost is $12,000 per month.

oh wow. i hope there canteen is a michelin starred restaurant for those prices...