Why Aim for Limited Long Term Care?
Some nursing homes, out of their compassion and generosity, offer free physical therapy to their elderly residents who are receiving long term care through Medicaid.
That freebie, however, is usually good for two weeks only.
Different kinds of geriatric diseases require physical therapy and among these are arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s among many others. Unfortunately, if you are not well-off or you do not have a private insurance that will finance your therapy sessions it would be impossible for you to acquire this service because it can cost a lot of money.
Physical therapy is almost always part and parcel of long term care (LTC) and it comes in various types, each uniquely designed for a specific health condition. There’s physical therapy that is intended for problems that concern the spine and joints, there’s another one that deals with neurology, and there’s even one that is specially designed for infants with special health care needs.
Now if you’re an adult planning his future health care needs you should definitely consider investing in an LTC plan that will cover physical therapy because your chances of needing it are big. Research shows that a large number of elderly people in nursing homes have experienced a bad fall at some point and are currently undergoing therapy.
Unfortunately, seldom are there nursing homes that provide physical therapy to elderly folks who are relying on Medicaid. Out of the kindness of some nursing homes, though, they offer their Medicaid patients free physical therapy sessions for two weeks if only for their temporary relief from pain and suffering.
Getting Quality Long Term Care
As the aging population increases the cost of care goes up, too. As a matter of fact, financial advisers say LTC costs are expected to rise fourfold sometime 2030 as the elderly population is expected to double to 71 million in the same year.
Just who would be capable of paying out-of-pocket once the annual cost of a private nursing home room has exceeded $300,000? Even the rates of in-home care and community-based LTC facilities will go up 18 years from now. So, a one-bedroom assisted living facility which has a monthly cost of $3,261 at present is expected to rise to $13,044.
Everybody should be earning at least one million in net to be able to afford the future cost of care or else only the wealthiest of America will have access to quality care.
However, LTC is not only for the wealthy. Everybody will need some level of care when he reaches a certain age and he can no longer function normally or at least perform the basic ADLs. An individual does not even have to be sick to require LTC.
Aging triggers a lot of changes to one’s body. Bones gradually become brittle, one’s memory begins to deteriorate and the simplest of daily activities becomes burdensome. This is a reality that you have to accept because once you have, you can easily and intelligently plan your long term care.
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