Financing senior living can be tough, especially when you find yourself ill-prepared. If you are tasked with finding affordable assisted living for your elderly loved one, such as a parent or spouse, you may feel overwhelmed with the sheer cost of it all and the many options available to you. Which one is best for your situation? Here are some tips on how to finance assisted living homes in Mesa AZ.
Overview of Options
How you will pay for long-term care depends on your current financial situation and the kinds of services your loved one needs. You may consider funding sources such as:
- ALTCS (Arizona Long Term Care System), a branch of Arizona’s Medicaid Program covering long-term health care and living costs for qualifying individuals.
- Personal funds, including savings, pensions, and income from stocks
- Government health insurance programs, such as Medicaid (Medicare generally doesn’t cover long-term care but it may cover select costs of short-term care within a nursing home after a hospital stay, for instance.)
- Private financing options, such as long-term care insurance
- Veterans’ benefits
Let’s go over these in more detail:
Veterans Aid & Attendance
If you or your spouse served in the military during active duty, you could qualify for Veterans Aid, which is a monthly benefit. These funds will cover in-home, assisted living or nursing home care, covering veterans’ expenses and those of their spouses.
Veterans or their spouses can receive up to:
- Married Veteran: $2,230/month
- Single Veteran: $1,881/month
- Surviving Spouse: $1,209/month
To learn more, visit the “Pension” page on the US Department of Veterans Affairs website.
Insurance Policies
You may use life insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term care annuities and hybrid policies, which can provide you with a regular stipend that covers expenses for everything from skilled nursing to adult day care to assisted living homes in Mesa AZ.
Seniors may decide to sell their unneeded life insurance policy to a life settlement company, receiving a lump sum payment in return. The reimbursement doesn’t equal the full face value of the policy, but it’s usually higher than the policy’s cash surrender value. Before choosing this option, have an experienced elder care attorney review the contract prior to signing it.
Some long-term care insurance policies can help offset the cost of in-home care expenses and assisted living costs. Review your senior loved one’s policy or get in touch with their insurance agent to clarify any issues.
Repurposing your policy is another option. If your loved one has an existing life insurance policy, you can convert an in-force policy to a pre-funded account to pay for senior care. All health conditions are accepted, there are no care limits or waiting periods, no application costs, no requirement of being terminally ill, and no premium payments or fees to be paid.
Short-Term Bridge Loans
These loans can give you as a homeowner some much-needed cash flow, despite the real estate outlook of the local market, or your readiness to sell your house or that of your loved one. Proceeds from the sale of a senior’s home can help pay for assisted living costs; however, the prospect of downsizing and preparing a house to sell adds to the stress of moving to an assisted living community.
Relocating before selling the home can rid an older adult of the anxiety associated with moving. Short-term bridge loans may be used to help finance the transition. They can help seniors like your loved one finance assisted living expenses while the home is being prepped for sale with a real estate agent. Plus, it may provide short-term funds if you need additional time to liquidate investments and assets. You can then pay off the loan once the home and investments are sold.
Reverse Mortgages
You could also unlock home equity with a reverse mortgage, allowing seniors like your parent or spouse to stay in their homes while getting the care they need and while generating funds for that care.
If your loved one is aged 62 and older and has equity in their current home, a reverse mortgage, or home equity conversion mortgage, would allow them to stay in their home while utilizing tax-free cash flow for expenses such as in-home care or long-term care insurance.
Social Security
The timing of when your loved one decided to begin drawing on these benefits can make a big impact on your financial plan. You can use social security income to pay for assisted living.
Contact Heritage Lane
To learn more about our assisted living facilities in Mesa and how affordable they are, or to take a tour, please contact us at 480-999-0511.
