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Ckap123 Asked January 2019

Remind me again, please, assisted and nursing home comparisons?

One would go to assisted living if not need too too much care, spend their money down and then what will occur next? AL can’t boot them out without having another place to send them, is that true. They need to keep the person until Medicaid(?) steps in to pay?


So confused but still at home receiving home health assistance. But not sure how long that can go on for. And maybe it’s cheaper to be in AL as opposed to so much help at home.


I am being proactive at this point as we just managed to get over a hurdle of needing full time help for the past week.


TIA

freqflyer Jan 2019
Ckap123, yes the budget is less when a love one is in Assisted Living. My Dad was paying around $6k to $7k per month for Assisted Living/Memory Care here in my area, compared to spending $20k per month for around the clock Agency caregivers [3 shifts as he was mainly a fall risk before developing Sundowners].

It is best to find an Assisted Living facility that has both self-pay and Medicaid, so that the love one doesn't have to move out should they need the benefits of being on Medicaid.

As JoAnn had mentioned in her post, it depends on the State. Best to call your State Medicaid office to see how their program works, then visit the various Assisted Living facilities and see what is required. You may find there is a waiting list.

Now, some places if you start out in their Independent Living building, then need Assisted Living, it is easy to transfer that love one, and where my Dad was living, if he needed a higher level of care, they were willing to provide since he started at square one with the facility and luckily was self-pay.

My Mom went directly from her home, to the hospital, to rehab, to a nursing facility within the rehab due to a serious fall at home that caused Mom to go into last stage of dementia, prior to that fall she was still fairly sharp for someone her age... there wasn't any chance now for her to go to Assisted Living, even on self-pay. The nursing home was costing her $12k per month.

Oh why does getting older have to be so complex :P

JoAnn29 Jan 2019
ALs are privately owned. Medicaid usually does not pay for ALs. Where I live in NJ, you have to private pay for at least two years for Medicaid to take over. That is if the AL has not reached the % of residents they allow on Medicaid. There are no guarantees.

NHs Medicaid pays for. You must spend down your assets to 2k. You apply 60/90 before you get to this point. In the meantime research the homes in ur area. ALs too.

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