- An average year in a semi-private nursing home room is $87,235.
- The average net worth of an older American is $232,000.
- 1 in 5 adults is the caregiver for an older American.
- The cost of care in the home is $21 per hour or $15,120 per month
- Of the 40 million Americans who are older than 65, 43% are expected to spend some time in a nursing home.
- The average nursing home stay is 2.5 years but 20% who enter a nursing home will stay longer than 5 years.
- Experts testifying before Congress in association with the HIPPA hearings estimated that current costs of nursing home care will triple in next 20 years.
Assume the cost of skilled care nursing is $10K per month. You have income of $2000 per month and $300K in assets. Without planning, your money will last right around 3 years if you take no steps to protect your assets.
MEDICARE LIMITATIONS
- Medicare may provide up to 100 days of a skilled nursing facility if discharged to SNF from hospital after a 3-day stay.
- Medicare will only pay in full for the first 20 days of your stay in a skilled nursing facility.
- Everything beyond the first 20 days is subject to $161-day copay if the proper supplemental policies have not been chosen.
- After day 100 the patient pays full amount.
This is why Medicaid is often the better choice for long term care. The key to applying for Medicaid and reaping the benefits is to utilize all planning tools and strategies available to you. Because the State of Ohio will look back on your assets and financial activities for 5 years preceding the start of your Medicaid application, it is best to be proactive and start planning right away. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
