Estate Planning | Making a Difference One Family at a Time

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You may be shocked to find out the facts if you are not aware of the current cost of nursing home care in the greater Hartford area.

The MetLife Mature Market Institute publishes a survey every year that lets us know where we stand when it comes to long-term care costs. The 2012 survey indicates that the average cost for a single day in a private room in a nursing home in Hartford last year was a rather incredible $410.

If you do the math you are looking at an average of almost $150,000 a year, and a stay of five years or more is not entirely uncommon. 10% of nursing home residents remain in the facilities for at least five years.

Medicare won’t pay for an extended stay in a nursing home, so that is not the solution.

There are alternatives to nursing home care that can sometimes be utilized to save money and perhaps provide more favorable living conditions.

One of them is to simply stay at home and have family members and paid in-home caregivers assist as necessary. Improvements can be made to the residence to make it easier for the senior citizen in question to get around.

There are also residential care homes that are sometimes quite small and contained within private residences. This option can be considerably less expensive than nursing home care, and it can provide more of a natural living environment and less of an institutional environment.

The above having been stated if nursing home care is absolutely essential it is possible to qualify for Medicaid as a way to pay for the care, but you have to plan ahead carefully.

If you are interested in learning about all of your options in greater detail simply set up a consultation with an elder law attorney. Your lawyer will evaluate your unique personal situation, gain an understanding of your preferences, and advise you accordingly.

 

Jeffrey A. Nirenstein, Estate Planning Attorney
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