My mom is makes too much money? She has no other assets than her retirement. She needs assisted living but can’t afford it? Am I just waiting until she is so unwell that she has to be placed in a nursing home? I just don’t understand how everyone on here is talking about assisted living like it’s no big deal?
I tell people all the time now, "SAVE MONEY FOR YOUR OWN ASSISTED LIVING. Stop buying things. Get rid of those TV packages. You don't need a nice car or the newest phone or more clothes...you need $500,000 in a savings plan."
My husband is only 72 and we are caught in the hole.
- board and care home. Will be way less than a NH and probably at the lower end of day rate for what AL do in your region.
- congregate living type of facility run by a nonprofit. These are usually a division of a religious organization. Like Catholic Charities or JFS or Methodist Ministries
-section 202 housing, this is low income senior only housing. Kinda like Section 8 housing but the property is seniors only. Most have supportive services (meals, transpo, wellness cks) that tie into other “at need” programs. They will have to go through the documentation process to show “need”.
- if your area does PACE, get them on their list to have an assessment (of health care need) done and then onto the PACE system. I personally am not a fan of PACE, but for those who have parents of limited means who live with them or vice versa, their folks both going onto PACE could be the bandaid till they enter a NH.
all of these have an application and a process to show eligibility. And a waiting list. There is no placement manana anywhere unless you have significant assets to hand over 3 months worth of private pay to a facility. Or they are currently in a hospital and being discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation as all this is a Medicare health insurance benefit. That flat is what it is. So get your folks applications done and get them on lists. If you are rural, go beyond your county.
Those who can't, stay home now and end up in nursing home. Her income may not even be enough for NH, but state Medicaid is very likely to cover the difference.
If there's a chance of using Medicaid, keep records of expenses she pays that, don't give her home to any family member or sell below value. Don't do gifting to others. Those things create penalty periods for Medicaid to start. Medicaid looks back 5 yrs in most states.
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