Will Medicare Pay for Long-Term Care?
As we age, and as we provide care and guidance for elderly parents, it is extremely important to consider the realities and costs of long-term care. According to the Administration on Aging (AOA), about two-thirds of adults aged 65 and older will need long-term care at some point in their lifetime, especially as they continue to age. About 20 percent of people in that age bracket will require long-term care for five years or more, according to the AOA, and the average length of a long-term care stay is approximately 3.7 years.
That amount of long-term care can add up very quickly. To be sure, US News & World Report indicates the average annual cost of nursing home care in the United States is nearly $117,000, and the cost is even higher in Connecticut. In fact, Connecticut has one of the highest daily rates for long-term care, at an average of $545 per day, or $198,925 annually. Like many Americans, you may be assuming that Medicare will pay for all or most of this. But in reality, Medicare pays for little, if any, costs associated with long-term care.
Medicare Does Not Cover Nursing Home and Assisted-Living Facility Stays
Medicare does not cover most long-term care. To be clear, that means Medicare does not cover most nursing home or assisted-living facility costs, or most long-term care in-home services. People commonly assume that Medicare covers this kind of care, but it simply does not.
There are some limited exceptions, but these are for short periods of time — such as Medicare covering skilled nursing facility care for up to 20 days at no cost, and up to 100 days with a coinsurance payment, but there are additional requirements even for Medicare to cover this type of long-term care and for this limited amount of time. You should not assume Medicare will cover any long-term care, and you should plan ahead with help from an attorney.
Need for Asset Protection and Medicaid Planning
Unless a person is extremely wealthy, they are going to deplete their savings rapidly if there is a need to pay for many months, or years, of long-term care. As such, it is necessary to discuss asset protection and Medicaid planning strategies with an elder law attorney in Connecticut.
Many elderly Connecticut residents and their adult children are confused about the need to qualify for Medicaid. Given that this is a program for people with limited assets, it often does not make sense initially that a firmly middle-class or higher earner would need to qualify for Medicaid to pay for long-term care. Yet unless there are other means of payment, including long-term care insurance, Medicaid is often necessary. There are ways of protecting assets so that you do not need to “spend down” in order to qualify for Medicaid with assistance from an attorney.
Contact a Canton Elder Law Attorney
It is important to seek legal advice about asset protection and planning for long-term care. As we have discussed above, people commonly — and mistakenly — assume that Medicare will pay for long-term care, but this is rarely the case. Accordingly, it is critical to have a plan in place to protect assets while ensuring that you or your elderly parent can receive the level of care that is necessary. To learn more about options for asset protection and Medicaid planning in Connecticut, you should get in touch with an experienced Connecticut elder law attorney at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe. We can speak with you today and assist you with all aspects of long-term care planning.
Sources:
health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes/articles/nursing-home-facts-and-statistics
medicare.gov/coverage/long-term-care
acl.gov/about-acl/administration-aging
