Any suggestions on reasonably priced assisted living places for Mom and Dad in Columbus OH? Have sticker shock!

Lizard, please check out what the requirements are for your mom to qualify for social services assistance. Your dad does not need to be impoverished for her to get help.

Yes, selling the house will produce income for them to get help, which is a blessing, so many people don't have any assets and make a few dollars over the limit for assistance.

If they go to an Assisted living facility then the house sale will give them a cushion for care, 3k monthly and the rest from the sale.

Not to be alarming, but statistically 40% of caregivers die before the person they are caring for. Those are the odds that your dad is facing, he needs help not just cheaper rent and your moms needs will only increase as this awful disease progresses. Please help him find a place that will help him take care of her, for both their sake.

At your parents' ages it makes no sense (to me) to go to the huge effort of moving them unless it is to a care community that has everything from AL to hospice. This will make future changes and increased needs for their care so much easier on them and you.

If they are willing, start looking at decent, local NHs with them (as it should be their decision). Make sure any place they seriously consider accepts Medicaid. Even if they start out paying privately, once they are in a place they like, they cannot be kicked out if they go onto Medicaid. My MIL is in a very nice facility on Medicaid. Also, taking them to see NHs in person dispells the concept of "bad old smelly nursing homes" that they fear. New places are pretty nice. If they owe a lot on their home, it may be time to let that anchor go as it may drive some very distorted and unproductive decisions regarding their future care. It would be money well spent to consult an elder law and estate attorney regarding their actual best options. Good luck!

It is not the worse thing about selling a house for care. You are doing exactly the right thing. If you can squeeze a year or two, consider looking at independent living as well. The burdon of cooking and cleaning is lifted if one person is in better shape to help the other. Do seek the services of an elder attorney to educate you on a spouses share of what they can keep so one can qualify for Medicaid while the other does not become impoverished. Depending on you state, a couple thousand spent to set up an irrevocable trust may save the healthier parent a share of the assets from a house sale. Again rules differ in each state.

You can search the area for senior apartments to see if it would benefit their cost of living compared to the expenses of the house. See what the rent is and if it would benefit them. I'm not sure if their income qualifies them for a rent reduction, they may be in that zone just above the income limits. Eventually they will likely need assistance with ADL's so it may be a good idea to contact your local Area on Aging. Get them involved early so they can assist.

Have you looked for board and care homes? They are smaller and tend to be cheaper. The downside is that they don't have the same amenities or activities as a larger AL.

Yes, the price of senior care is shocking. I think that everyone that hears for the first time how much it is, is set back on their heals.

That's really not bad, paying 6K a month here for step-father and his wife. My mother is also living in AL, $4,700 a month for just her. Florida, two different homes.
Your parents earn too much, I doubt that they would qualify for a rent control apartment.

In AL there is not much extra to pay and a potion of the expense is tax deductible.

So, if your parents have 42K per year, they HAVE 3K per month.

The thing to remember is that with AL, they have very few expenses outside of the cost of AL; plus, part of the AL price tag is most probably deductible from their taxes.

Also, do they have savings/assets? You need to figure out their "safe withdrawal rate" from those funds that can supplement their SS/Pension income.

Yes, when we saw that the price tag for Independent Living for mom was going to be 5K per month, we blanched, but SIL, who deals in finance showed us that mom could easily afford it because she would be paying with pension AND withdrawals from the nest egg.

Call your local Area Agency on Aging and ask for a list of Senior Apartments. These apartments are usually 30% of the person’s monthly income. My mother lived in one up here in Cleveland and while it wasn’t “resort” living, it was nice. But first, determine what they need. There is a big difference between a rent control apartment where they’d be on their own, and Assisted Living where there is a medical staff. If they need Assisted Living, you won’t find one much less than a few thousand a month. You may need to consider filing for Medicaid.