The insane cost of elder care

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lifelong planning and savings. Also LTC insurance.

This 1000%

Also selecting to live in a CCRC well before you need any of these services. With a CCRC you pay a high entrance fee and your monthly rent in independent living is not cheap, but is reasonable for the meals included and the services you get. That entrance fee basically covers the extra costs for when you need to be anywhere except independent living---one spouse can still be in independent living in your 2 bedroom place and the other can be in assisted living/medical care living/memory care/etc. Most of the CCRC guarantee that you can continue living there even if you "run out of money" as they won't let you in unless you have enough saved. Typically it is the women who live past 95 that this happens to---and they won't touch your Social security.

This way, you only continue to pay say $7000/month that you were paying in independent living even if you now require memory care. No increases to $12K/month for that (That's why you paid a high 6 figure fee upfront)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents thought they had planned carefully but had no comprehension of elder care costs in the 21st century (neither did us kids). They were an accountant and administrative assistant with modest pensions and <$1 million in other savings. It's all gone after years of those $10k/month bills. My Dad passed at 86 and my 88-year old Mom is moving to a Medicaid facility this summer.

Sometimes that's how it goes when you get old. I have no better suggestion other than to not be sick for very long at the end.

Precisely what happened to us. My dad went to level 4 LTC at Hebrew Home in Rockville at 15K/month. Previously he'd had 24-hour private nurses at his home at ca. 30k/month. We burned through his savings, and his house sale proceeds, like a match through dry grass.

Now that he has passed, I'm wondering what to do in my own old age. "Not being sick for very long at the end" is the only solution in the US, unless you are very wealthy indeed.

+1. Unless you/your family has recenlty had to deal with elder care, you just don't get it. Unless you are independently wealthy, you can never save enough. And this is why more and more parents are moving in with their children - the money starts to run out.

[Anonymous]

We found a small assisted living in a house in the neighborhood for $3K. Great care and relative is happy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents thought they had planned carefully but had no comprehension of elder care costs in the 21st century (neither did us kids). They were an accountant and administrative assistant with modest pensions and <$1 million in other savings. It's all gone after years of those $10k/month bills. My Dad passed at 86 and my 88-year old Mom is moving to a Medicaid facility this summer.

Sometimes that's how it goes when you get old. I have no better suggestion other than to not be sick for very long at the end.

Precisely what happened to us. My dad went to level 4 LTC at Hebrew Home in Rockville at 15K/month. Previously he'd had 24-hour private nurses at his home at ca. 30k/month. We burned through his savings, and his house sale proceeds, like a match through dry grass.

Now that he has passed, I'm wondering what to do in my own old age. "Not being sick for very long at the end" is the only solution in the US, unless you are very wealthy indeed.

+1. Unless you/your family has recenlty had to deal with elder care, you just don't get it. Unless you are independently wealthy, you can never save enough. And this is why more and more parents are moving in with their children - the money starts to run out.

You don't have to be "independently wealthy" to buy LTC. People just don't choose to spend their money that way. My in-laws did. And we will too. My father is broke enough that we will just spend down his assets and use Medicaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t be shocked but the cost of care for the elderly is insane. I’m researching assisted living places. In addition to the rent, which is significant, there are extra costs for medication administration and “level 1-4 care” which is from $400-$2500 extra per month on top of rent. There are special programs for people who suffer from memory issues (not a memory care facility but a group), and other types of extra group programs. These range from $1000-$1500 more a month.

Seriously looking at $9k-$11k per month. How do people afford that??

LTC is for the rich. The rich afford it because they have a lot of money. The rest of the population doesn't afford it. They either die or they have strong family bonds and live with family members who care for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents thought they had planned carefully but had no comprehension of elder care costs in the 21st century (neither did us kids). They were an accountant and administrative assistant with modest pensions and <$1 million in other savings. It's all gone after years of those $10k/month bills. My Dad passed at 86 and my 88-year old Mom is moving to a Medicaid facility this summer.

Sometimes that's how it goes when you get old. I have no better suggestion other than to not be sick for very long at the end.

Precisely what happened to us. My dad went to level 4 LTC at Hebrew Home in Rockville at 15K/month. Previously he'd had 24-hour private nurses at his home at ca. 30k/month. We burned through his savings, and his house sale proceeds, like a match through dry grass.

Now that he has passed, I'm wondering what to do in my own old age. "Not being sick for very long at the end" is the only solution in the US, unless you are very wealthy indeed.

+1. Unless you/your family has recenlty had to deal with elder care, you just don't get it. Unless you are independently wealthy, you can never save enough. And this is why more and more parents are moving in with their children - the money starts to run out.

Nope. There are plenty of places that are $3-5k a month.

[Anonymous]

No healthy spouse has to spend away all the assets taking care of the sick spouse. That is what Medicaid planning is about. But Medicaid planning is not for amateurs and mistakes can be catastrophic. Hire a lawyer affiliated with the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

[Anonymous]

I plan to self-euthanize once I can no longer live independently. I’m not going to enrich some crooked private industry because I’ve kept myself in good health. I’d rather leave money and assets to my kids at age eighty than spend $100k a year for an additinal 10-15 years to gaze out of a window being fed cafeteria food and missing my old life.

[Anonymous]

In Frank Herbert’s Dune books, the Fremen desert people dispose of their dead in a death still that harvests all of the deceased person’s bodily water, a most valuable thing not to be wasted on the desert planet where they live. The elder care/death care industry is like that — gradually draining away the substance of people until there is nothing left but a husk someone has to pay to bury or burn up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents thought they had planned carefully but had no comprehension of elder care costs in the 21st century (neither did us kids). They were an accountant and administrative assistant with modest pensions and <$1 million in other savings. It's all gone after years of those $10k/month bills. My Dad passed at 86 and my 88-year old Mom is moving to a Medicaid facility this summer.

Sometimes that's how it goes when you get old. I have no better suggestion other than to not be sick for very long at the end.

Precisely what happened to us. My dad went to level 4 LTC at Hebrew Home in Rockville at 15K/month. Previously he'd had 24-hour private nurses at his home at ca. 30k/month. We burned through his savings, and his house sale proceeds, like a match through dry grass.

Now that he has passed, I'm wondering what to do in my own old age. "Not being sick for very long at the end" is the only solution in the US, unless you are very wealthy indeed.

+1. Unless you/your family has recenlty had to deal with elder care, you just don't get it. Unless you are independently wealthy, you can never save enough. And this is why more and more parents are moving in with their children - the money starts to run out.

Nope. There are plenty of places that are $3-5k a month.

That is a lot of money.

$4000x12=$48000 for just one year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're wealthy, it's LTC insurance or Medicaid. Get your assets out of your name 5 years before you need Medicaid LTC or the state will take it all!

Well, no. That would be unethical. Why do you think others should pay for your health care? Are you a welfare queen, too? Do you like the dole?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t be shocked but the cost of care for the elderly is insane. I’m researching assisted living places. In addition to the rent, which is significant, there are extra costs for medication administration and “level 1-4 care” which is from $400-$2500 extra per month on top of rent. There are special programs for people who suffer from memory issues (not a memory care facility but a group), and other types of extra group programs. These range from $1000-$1500 more a month.

Seriously looking at $9k-$11k per month. How do people afford that??

LTC is for the rich. The rich afford it because they have a lot of money. The rest of the population doesn't afford it. They either die or they have strong family bonds and live with family members who care for them.

LTC policies are also getting more and more restrictive while also more costly.

And you shouldn't need to hire lawyers to hide money away in order to qualify for less expensive care.

[Anonymous]

It really is wild, and getting worse. People talk about how the boomer generation passing will be this big transfer of wealth to their millennial children, but I don't think those people take end-of-life care into account. My parents are comfortable now, but could easily burn through everything and then some with a few years of $200k/year care.

[Anonymous]

Yeah the medication administration fee seemed crazy for my grandma. We ended up hiring a nice lady to help with that kind of stuff for much cheaper. She just needed her pill boxes set up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t be shocked but the cost of care for the elderly is insane. I’m researching assisted living places. In addition to the rent, which is significant, there are extra costs for medication administration and “level 1-4 care” which is from $400-$2500 extra per month on top of rent. There are special programs for people who suffer from memory issues (not a memory care facility but a group), and other types of extra group programs. These range from $1000-$1500 more a month.

Seriously looking at $9k-$11k per month. How do people afford that??

LTC is for the rich. The rich afford it because they have a lot of money. The rest of the population doesn't afford it. They either die or they have strong family bonds and live with family members who care for them.

LTC policies are also getting more and more restrictive while also more costly.

And you shouldn't need to hire lawyers to hide money away in order to qualify for less expensive care.

Medicaid planning is not “hiding money away.” It is making sure that the parties’ rights as written into the relevant statutes and regulations are preserved. Philosophically, perhaps, one should “need” legal advice, but from a practical standpoint that is what it takes.