Financial Options

The Cost of Memory Care Assisted Living

There are many factors to contemplate when considering memory care for your loved one, and managing the resources required to pay for care is among the most challenging. The following information is designed to help families understand what is involved in paying for care – options, what it covers and how “saving money” can sometimes have a greater cost later on.

Financial Options for Long Term Care

When deciding which care is in your price range and how to pay for it, there are many options to consider. Making sure a loved one gets the right long-term care is a task in and of itself, and navigating the funding options and different payment methods adds additional levels of complexity to an already-arduous process.

Here are some common options to bring up with your financial professional when budgeting for the cost of memory care and home care:

Long-term care insurance
This type of insurance provides varying levels of coverage to handle the cost of care that is typically not covered by other forms of insurance, such as at home and memory care assisted living. Long-term care insurance is an anticipatory protection and will not apply for preexisting conditions.

Veteran’s benefits
Veterans who served during wartime may be eligible for this benefit. It pays up to $2,000 per month of supplemental income that may be used to offset the cost of assisted living, in-home care or other expenses as defined under the Aid & Attendance portion of VA Pension benefit.

Secured lines of credit
A line of credit can be secured by certificates of deposit (CDs), equities (stocks), personal property and cash. This is similar to a bank account; however instead of depositing money into the account, money is borrowed against a line of credit to fund the cost of long-term care. This form of credit may be consistently borrowed against without having to renegotiate terms.

Reverse mortgage
Homeowners age 62 and up can have the option of using a reverse mortgage to provide access to their home’s equity. In short, the homeowner is mortgaging their home to the provider, who pays in one lump sum or multiple payouts to help cover the cost of assisted living or in-home care. Repayment of the loan is deferred until the owner passes away, moves out or the home is sold. As long as one of the homeowners remains in the home, these funds may be available.

Life Insurance
Some forms of life insurance can be used to fund the costs of assisted living and other care services.

Typically Medicare does not cover long-term memory care assisted living services. To learn more visit their site here. Please contact your local Silverado Memory Care Community for the most up-to-date rates and to discuss how we can help you navigate the complexities of starting memory care.

What am I paying for?

The cost of memory care is significant, which means that balancing quality of care and features against rate is the primary consideration for most families. We understand how important this is, and we are more than happy to share how we believe that pound-for-pound, feature-for-feature, Silverado is unmatched in a comparison of rates versus features.

The following distinctive features are included with every resident’s daily rate, which is typically comparable to in-home care:

• Physician Medical Director
• Social workers who are Masters-level educated
• Around-the-clock licensed nurse on-site
• Extensive background in managing challenging personality changes and complex healthcare needs (diabetes, COPD, etc.)
• Medications administered only by licensed nurses
• Specially-trained, dementia-certified staff

Specific rates vary based on region and each resident’s level of need. Silverado offers an all-inclusive rate structure, so additional costs beyond our standard rate are minor. We invite you to compare Silverado’s offerings to your other care choices, or let a Silverado memory care specialist help support you with additional resources and information.

The Cost of Waiting

Health, safety and peace of mind don’t have a price tag. While finance is and should be a factor in deciding to place a loved one, there are factors that transcend this.

Being able to take a shower without worrying about what is going on in the rest of the house. Spending time with your loved one as a wife/husband/daughter/son/etc. and not as a caregiver. Having a good night’s sleep without the anxiety that comes with being responsible for another life 24/7.

Here are just a few reasons to consider care earlier:

• A community provides a vibrant, social atmosphere where residents can socialize and find purpose while avoiding the isolation that can often exacerbate dementia (socialization and purpose have been shown to have benefits to those in the early stages of cognitive impairment)
• How care is approached early in the disease process can drastically affect its trajectory, making a huge difference to both the individual living with the disease and their loved ones.
• A secure environment purposefully-designed to be both safe and enriching can greatly reduce many of the common health and safety risks faced by those with memory impairments – falls, injuries, wandering, etc.

In addition to the many reasons why placement is good for the resident, it can be vitally important to the family caregiver. The statistics of how caregiving affects an individual’s health are sobering – higher stress, depression, early death and more. In most cases earlier placement is good for the entire family, not just the individual receiving care.