If you stick your head in the sand with regard to the possibility of incurring assisted living expenses late in your life, you may find yourself in a difficult situation once you reach your twilight years.
One of the reasons a lot of people don’t give the matter too much thought is because of the fact that they are under the impression that Medicare will cover any and all health related expenses that come their way once they qualify for the program.
The truth is that Medicare will not pay for a stay in an assisted living community or a nursing home. This is a fact you have to understand and take into account when planning for your senior years.
Paying out-of-pocket is certainly an option, but you’d better have some deep pockets. The 2011 average for a 12-month stay in an assisted living community in the United States was over $41,000; the same period of time in a private room in a nursing home would run you in excess of $87,000 on average.
Medicaid does pay for long-term care, and many people angle toward Medicaid eligibility when they gain an understanding of the lay of the land with regard to addressing assisted living costs. To become eligible, you have to position your assets intelligently because there is an upper resource limit of just $2,000. You and your family will have to navigate the extremely complex rules of qualifying for Medicaid to find out exactly which of your most valuable possessions count toward this figure.
The best way to be prepared for the eventualities of aging is to plan ahead in advance with the benefit of expert advice. If you are concerned about your future, take action right now to arrange for a consultation with an experienced, savvy Oklahoma City elder law attorney.
Larry Parman
Author, President and Founding Attorney
Parman & Easterday
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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