A Place for Mom's Family

COMPARING ASSISTED LIVING COSTS TO STAYING AT HOME

When shopping for an assisted living community for your loved one, sticker shock is a common condition.

A Place For Mom's Eldercare Advisors frequently hear the refrain "That's so much more expensive than just living at home." But is it true that assisted living costs more than living at home?

"The key difference is quality of life. Not only is assisted living financially equal to living at home, it's such a dramatically different way of life," explains Pam Talon, A Place For Mom's Market Development Coach for the Northeast region.

Most people underestimate how much money they spend on food each month, and forget about all the miscellaneous expenses that crop up, Talon says. Mentally, they simply add up rent or the mortgage and utilities, guess on how much they spend on eating, and come up with a figure that's not accurate.

This article continues at Assisted Living Costs.

This is very true.  I use this logic a lot!  Thanks,

Your info is spot on and correct. I am just a family member of a large family and for some reason the go to guy for advice on such matters. The home and living cost plus property taxes can often be off set byt the fact most private pay can be a huge deduction on your income taxes.

How ever I have my mother who is wheel chair ridden because of a stroke. She just cannot walk on her left leg but everything else is ok. I tried home care and could not handle the people who called in sick forceing me to miss work. Now my Mom is at her second assisted living (Sunrise of Shelby Mi.) for 2 years & the place is great the manager and care givers are also great. The down side is the cost. When she entered at $4,300 per month we thought it was on the high end but you get what you pay for. Well the rate increases are huge and every 6 months you can expect a evaluation and then a rate change. $5,400 then $6,300 then $7,400 and next month they don't know how much but it is going up substancially because they have to put thickner in her coffee.

The truma of Moving Mom at 87 is not something we want to do but we approaching $100,000.00 per year out of pocket. She has not changed or I should say very little since moving in two years ago. But a $40,000 per year increase is more than I can afford.

From Experience you advice is very sound just watch for the bait & switch

Quick questions - was dad a Veteran of WW2 or Korea?

Is mom a Surviving Spouse of a Veteran, or is she a Vet?

For you, and others who might read this article...if dad was a Veteran of WW2 or Korea, and/or mom is a surviving spouse of Veteran, there is a benefit available from the VA called the Aid & Attendance benefit.  This benefit pays income tax free money to qualified Vets/Spouses. 

Eligibility Requirements are: 1) Vet must have served at least 90 days of active duty, with at least one day served uring a time of war; 2) Assets - many variables require each case to be evaluated individually, but the VA has some guidelines as to the maximum amount you can have; 3) Financial Need - it must be demonstrated that the income is less than the caregiving expense; 4) Medical Diagnosis - a clearly stated medical reason why the Vet/Spouse needs help with the Assisted Daily Living skills.

 How much does it pay?  UP TO: $998 for a Surviving Spouse; $1,556 for a Veteran; $1,842 for a couple.  Income Tax Free.

This explanation is OVER SIMPLIFIED.  You can go to the website www.va.gov to get more information on how to apply. It's called the Aid & Attendance benefit.  There are application processors who will assist in a consultation for a fee, but you need to check on the reliability and the success of getting the benefit approved for their clients. It's a long, slow process, but the benefit is worth it. 

Hope this helps someone.

Unfortunatly durring WWII he was in the army but did not go over sea's he was office bound here state side. I guess the part I am amzed at is from 4,500-7,500 per month in 18 months and now 24 months they want around 10,000 oer month. Her care has not increased other than she is 2 years older.

 But the amazing part is all I hear is "We are a caring family" "We want to serve" "We want to help" And then its well we are a big company and there is nothing we can do about how they charge. Frustrated.  Am I that poor ? I guess most people can afford $120,000.00 cash per year just not me. Yeah I know its tax deductible but then I would tell you I have to earn $200,000.00 B/4 taxes to pay $120,000.00[:'(]

 My only complaint it is the cost. Sunrise Shelby Michigan has a fantastic group of care givers and managers. If money is no object then I would say by all means I have seen many of them and this place is like a cruise ship on land.

Toms GT,

The veteran did not have to serve in a war zone or overseas. The requirement is that they served "during a period of war". I strongly recommend you contact the VA at (800) 827-1000 (this number rings the VA Regional Office for the state you are in regardless of where you are) for specific information.  For help in completing the application you should really see an accredited service officer in one of the organizations recognized, and accredited, by the VA. They have a list on their web site, although it is a bit old. These service officers and organizations do not charge a fee for this service.  Although these applications can be completed by yourself it can be daunting, especially when you need to reply to requests for additional information or encounter problems.

It is amazing how things happen. I was blessed to be invited to a meeting on this very topic. I did find out qualifications do have to do with four main facts

1. 65 and disabled

2. serverd at least 90days active duty, with one day during war time(do not have to be in the war), with anything but dishonarable discharge.

3 out of packet medical expenses have to be 5% above what the veterans income is

4 soluable assets(not including houses, cars or property)

The gentelman that led the meeting was from the veterans coalition who does the leg work and interviews to determin if the veteran is approved for this benefit. He gave me his business card and I am going to pass his contact info on:

Glenn Osborne

Based in Nashville TN

615-227-5808, 1-877-814-8387(toll free)

This is a free service and he is quoted as saying " the staff will be able to tell you with a 99.9% accuaracy if you will qualify.

It is definitly worth your time, care is very expensive. Good Luck

Word of Caution on these "qualfications", based on personal experience:

Assets - the max amount of money the VA allows is $80k; a lot of applicants trip up on this factor, and some advisors (attorneys, CPA's, relatives) have given incorrect advice resulting in the applicant not qualifying for the benefit, or, having an asset enter into the ownership of the applicant, thereby, booting them out of the program when the annual EVR is performed. i.e. the Vet owns a house, then decides to "sell" the house, the proceeds then enter into their bank account - there is a good chance they'll be disqualified from the benefit.

Also, several families we have worked with will gift the money assets to the kids; we had one family whose daughter/POA was "gifted" $60,000, as the POA; the POA was liened by the IRS, and they took the money. 

Another case - the son was the POA, an annuity was used to reposition the money, the son had full access to the annuity; the annuity did not have an amendment preventing the son, as owner, from taking the money. The son bought a new house, a new car, and took a cruise.  The agent confronted the son, and charges of fraud and elder abuse have been filed, the son is being prosecuted as I write this.  

How the assets are held and structured is vitally important, to protect the assets of the VET is the primary reason for proper structuring.

 One last case - a family was referred to us for the benefit; an out of state rental property was owned by dad; the advice they had been given was to simply transfer the house into a trust, and dad could still "qualify" for the benefit.  The intent was to sell the house as the costs for the dad's care increased.  We prevented the loss of the benefit, due to the proposed income from the house sale.  We saved them a lot of heartache.

 Facilities - it has been our experience that applicants have the best chance of getting the benefit with one of two conditions are present:1) they are in a Facility that provides medical assistance for at least of the Assisted Daily Living skills; 2) a Vet living at home with a paid, outside caregiving agency providing the daily medical assistance needed.

 This can be a complicated benefit to obtain, always get your information from a few different sources.  In the last 2 1/2 years our organization has successfully secured benefits for 460 Vets / Spouses / Surviving Spouses.  No brag, just fact.

 Take care, hope this helps.

Mom is a surviving spouse of WW11 Vet.

I have her investments well secured and sold her home and invested in her name (with me as her exec) to draw interest allong with her husband retirement income to pay for assisted car. Any extra cost (which is a lot) I pay for out of my pocket each month.

The key is to keep the investment to make interest to pay for her car.....take it out to pay the huge increase and you defeat the purpose. At 10K per month (120K per year) it won't take long. Yes we are over the 80K limit by a bunch as well.