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Who Will Pay for Your Long-Term Care? | Working with an Atlanta Elder Law Attorney

Posted by Steve Worrall | Dec 10, 2012

Who Will Pay for Your Long-Term Care? | Working with an Atlanta Elder Law Attorney

Atlanta Elder Law Attorney

Many people approach estate planning attorneys in order to determine how their assets will be divided among survivors after their death.  Unfortunately, a huge number of them don't take the high likelihood of long-term care into consideration.  Elder law attorneys in Atlanta see this situation come up time and again, and it is important to educate clients on the options they have available.

First of all, long-term care is a very likely scenario.  People are now living longer than they ever have before.  This can be a great thing, but it also means that the period of time in which we cannot fully care for ourselves may be longer, too.  More and more people find that they truly need some form of long-term care.  In some cases, this can be handled through an in-home healthcare worker rather than in a nursing home, but even that is expensive.

Nursing homes are a common solution when it comes to long-term care, and a good elder law attorney should help you plan for how to make this possibility happen.  It's common for people to think that the government will simply pay for their needs or that a nursing home isn't any more expensive than renting an apartment.  Both ideas are usually untrue.

So, how does one pay for long-term care?  Atlanta elder law attorneys typically see four approaches:

  1. Private Pay – Any care that is needed, from nursing homes to prescriptions drugs (including co-payments or full costs) are covered out of pocket.  Elder care services tend to be very expensive, and the costs associated with them are incredibly high.  It's not unusual for assisted-living placements to cost upwards of $8,000 a month.  That means that “simple” basics that are required for day-to-day living come out to $96,000 a year.
  2. Medicare – Medicare is a health insurance program administered through the government.  Elder law attorneys work with this program a lot because one of the basic requirements is that you must be over 65 to receive benefits.  Many people are surprised to learn that Medicare does not typically cover long-term care.  So, even if you qualify for this program, it cannot be used to cover nursing home care or in-home healthcare professionals for more than about 100 days.
  3. Medicaid – Medicaid is used by those with great financial need, and you must apply and qualify for the benefits.  Many people are shocked when their elder law attorney explains that Medicaid is not actually available to everyone, and if you have much by way of assets (even a modest home or a few thousand dollars in the bank), you may not qualify at all.  If you hope to qualify for Medicaid, you must prepare several years in advance to protect your assets.
  4. Long-Term Care Insurance – This type of insurance can help to cover or offset the costs associated with long-term care, such as an in-home healthcare worker or nursing home care.  Policies can be somewhat confusing and expensive, so it's highly recommended to work with an impartial elder law attorney when reviewing potential policies to ensure you understand them and are getting what you expect.

There are many issues to take into consideration when planning for your future, and long-term care is undoubtedly one of the most important.  Working with an elder care attorney in Atlanta means that you will understand the options that are available to you and how they apply according to state and federal law. Call us at 770-425-6060 and we can help you examine the approaches that will work best for you and your family.

About the Author

Steve Worrall

As a sandwich generation kid himself (caring for both children and aging parents), Marietta Georgia Estate Planning Elder Law & Probate Attorney Steve (Stephen M.) Worrall KNOWS the struggles you are facing as you raise children, balance the demands of your job, and take care of your aging parent...

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