Planning Ahead for Long Term Care is About Making Decisions By Choice, Not Crisis.

What If?

Have you ever thought what your life would be like if an aging parent or spouse needed help with everyday living? Where would you get information or find quality help? What if you needed to pay for this help for a long time? How can you afford it? Do you know what your parent or spouse’s hopes and fears are for their future? How would you take care of the rest of your family, your job and other responsibilities, yet also take care of yourself? What if something happened to you?

Considering these “what if's” is critical because if you are not already caring for an aging spouse or parent, it’s likely that someday you will.

Are You a Caregiver?

Caregiving can be as simple as calling to “check-in” on a parent. You are a caregiver if you worry whether your spouse is taking his medicine, or if you take your parent shopping because she struggles to do it on her own. Caregiving can also be very hands-on, like calling or stopping by your parent’s home several times a day; helping a spouse bathe, dress and prepare meals; paying your parent’s bills and applying for government benefits; or arranging for medical and personal care.

Whether your role as a caregiver is sudden or gradual, simple or full-time, caregiving is a daunting task that most of us are not prepared for. Planning ahead allows you the chance to explore the types, costs and benefits of different options before they are needed.

Planning ahead means you can put in place the supports caregivers will need—family support, service supports, and financial support. Planning ahead means that you can discuss with your aging loved ones their hopes and fears about remaining healthy and independent, and you can set in motion actions to assure independence for as long as possible.

Long Term Care Is Expensive

It is possible to risk losing your life savings when long term care is needed. A year in a nursing home can cost well over $60,000. Depending upon where you live and the type of facility you use, costs can be significantly higher. A year of in-home health care or personal care averages well over $20,000 (that's $18/hour, five hours per day, five days a week for a home health aide). Even a short stay in a nursing home or a few months of in-home care can derail years of careful financial planning.

What if you need long term care in the future? Nursing home costs have been increasing about 5% a year. If that continues for another 10 years, the cost of nursing home care (for a semi-private room) in 2014 is expected to be $85,000 a year. In another 20 years, that cost will rise to $138,000. As you plan for the future, you should consider whether this is an expense you will be able to afford.

Many people think that their health insurance will cover part of the cost of long term care. Unfortunately, that is probably not true, and will be even less likely in the future. It is important to understand your options for covering long term care costs. It is important to understand if you qualify for government benefit programs, if long term care insurance is right for you, and how much of your own assets and savings you want to draw on to pay for care. It is important to consider which options offer you the most flexibility, choice and highest level of coverage. Without this knowledge, the financial burden to your family may be significant.

Expressing Your Wishes

Your values, your beliefs and your attitudes about belongings, assets, health and medical care are of primary importance in the long term planning process. It is crucial to have in place several basic legal documents to ensure that your wishes about medical care, long term care, asset protection and distribution are protected in the event that you cannot speak or act on your own behalf.

By having your wishes and desires clearly outlined in advance of illness or death, potential conflicts between family members, care providers and others can be reduced in stressful times. In addition, by completing this legal process, you open opportunities to discuss your thoughts about the future with family members. This is something that can make an enormous difference if long term care is needed—-talking with family members while you are still healthy about the probability that you might, at some point in the future, need assistance, and how you would like to live out your life with dignity and comfort.

Talking about these important issues doesn’t make them happen. It is never too early to discuss them, but frequently, it may be too late.