Greater Demand for Long Term Care in California
Demographers have revealed that California’s elderly population is growing at a fast rate especially the 85-year-old age group, thus posing a big problem to California long term care.
This should actually come as good news because Californians are living longer than other people on earth. But the problem is that majority of these Californians are uninsured. When the time comes that they will require long term care (LTC) there is no doubt that they will turn to Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, since they can’t possibly afford their LTC needs using their nest eggs.
Unfortunately, Medi-Cal has a limited budget for LTC so it cannot manage to foot the nursing home bills of over 3 million elderly people. Medi-Cal is primarily designed for poor families, pregnant women and children so it can’t promise extensive LTC coverage.
Younger Californians are advised to start working out their individual LTC plans to avoid putting themselves in the unpleasant situation that their elders are in right now.
Senior Californians receiving care in nursing homes pay out $95,813 every year, on average, for a private room and all the services that come with it.
Meanwhile, those in assisted living facilities, or their families, have to deal with spending $3,675 every month which translates to an annual rate of $44,100. In exchange for this expensive fee, their senior loved ones receive assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, bathing, dressing, use of the toilet, continence, and transferring.
Assisted living facilities also provide homemaker services such as meal preparation, housecleaning, and laundering among others. Caregivers in this type LTC facility are also expected to provide their residents with various social activities and accompany them whenever they have to see the doctor.
Early Planning for California Long Term Care?
Majority of the elderly who are currently receiving care in California chose to remain in their homes, but this did not turn out as an opportunity to save more money because in-home care in California costs a fortune.
For a home health aide, elderly Californians have to fork out $26 every hour. Home health aides assist in-home care recipients with their ADLs but their job does not cover cooking, cleaning, washing of laundry, and doing errands for their patients. So if an elderly person is living alone and he needs somebody to keep his house clean and cook his meals, he has to pay additional $25 per hour for this type of service.
If you plan to grow old in California you really have to plan your future health care needs seriously otherwise the future cost of care will wipe out all of your assets.
Financial planners and elder care specialists would highly recommend a comprehensive tax qualified long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, as this serves as one’s ticket to an array of LTC settings. Aside from allowing you to receive the best care in California, this insurance product will also protect your assets from the high cost of care.
Take a break from work and contact a licensed California long term care insurance agent in your area to inquire about long term care quotes, the cost and benefits of a potential policy.
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