A client of mine has been dealing with her aging father and his cognitive decline over the past few years. She has witnessed him go from a highly engaged and intellectually curious individual to being anxious, confused, and unable to perform basic daily functions. My client has worked hard to keep her father’s home life stable and routine, but as a working single parent of two, she is nearing a breaking point in her ability to continue providing his care. This story probably doesn’t sound new to you. You may know someone in a similar position, or perhaps, be in this situation with someone you love.
Long-term care (referred to here as LTC) continues to grow in importance and relevance. It doesn’t always refer to care related to someone with cognitive difficulties such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. Long-term care refers to a wide range of support required to meet the medical, personal, and social needs of an individual. Research continues to support findings that suggest over 50% of adults aged 65 or older will experience serious long-term care needs requiring assistance with two or more activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, or feeding.[i]
The odds are that if we don’t know of someone now who needs long-term care, including ourselves, it is highly likely that we will in the future. Further, long-term care needs often create financial hardship because paid care is expensive, and Medicare doesn’t cover most long-term care costs.
This article is meant to answer a few of the major questions about long-term care to provide a basic understanding around the types of care and their associated costs.
As noted above, long-term care isn’t just about medical care, or just about cognitive issues. In the modern definition of long-term care, this type of support is designed to meet medical, personal, and social needs of those who cannot fully support themselves.
It’s important to note that the primary goal of care is not to cure an illness, but to allow an individual to attain and maintain an optimal level of functioning.
The non-medical component of LTC deals more with “custodial care”, which is aimed at assisting people with ordinary activities referred to as “Activities of Daily Living” (ADLs). These daily tasks include bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, and transferring (getting out of bed or chair). The inability to do two or more ADLs is a key trigger for benefit eligibility with both Medicaid and private long-term care insurance. Cognitive impairment is also a trigger for LTC benefits.
Long-term care needs are growing at an alarming rate. As noted earlier, over 50% of individuals living beyond age 65 will need some form of long-term care support. Why are the numbers so high? Three significant drivers are at play:[ii]
In addition to the three primary drivers noted above, there are additional risk factors for needing long-term care including:
Long-term care services and support varies widely from assistance with activities of daily living to help with services such as bill paying or housekeeping. In addition, the costs for care vary not only by the type of care but also by geography, supply of qualified caregivers, and how much care is needed by the individual.
The three most common types of care:
Home-Based Care: This is care given in the home, and often broken down into two categories:
The average monthly cost for home-based care is approximately $4,576/month.
Community-Based Care: This is adult day health care, providing therapeutic, social, and other support services in a community-based setting. The national monthly cost is $2,154/month.
Facility-Based Care: This refers to living in a care facility full-time such as an assisted living facility, where the average monthly cost is approximately $4,300/month. Costs for nursing homes are higher, with the national average monthly cost for a semi-private room at $7,756/month.
All of these costs are expected to rise over the next several years as demand for long-term care increases.
*Figures provided by 2020 Genworth Cost of Care Survey[v]
Medicare[vi] – Many people believe that Medicare pays for LTC, but this is not the case. Medicare pays for hospitalizations and treatments, largely related to acute situations. Once the patient no longer needs a bed in an acute care facility, Medicare benefits stop. Medicare will pay for medically necessary skilled nursing facility care for short periods; however, there are strict criteria that must be met to qualify for Medicare coverage:
Medicaid[vii] – government funded insurance. This is only available to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into particular eligibility groups. Must meet both financial and functional eligibility criteria. Financial requirements are that individuals demonstrate minimal income and assets. Functional eligibility requires an impairment that limits ability to perform ADLs. Even if individual does qualify for Medicaid, conditions may not be ideal. Most assisted living facilities do not accept Medicaid patients. Most nursing homes do accept Medicaid but limit how many Medicaid patients they will accept. In some states, patients must take the first bed that opens, no matter where it is located.
Long-term care Insurance[viii] – private insurance that typically provides for help in home with personal activities including ADLs, homemaker assistance services, such as cleaning and bill paying, visiting nurses, community programs, such as adult day care, assisted living services, typically including meals, health monitoring, and help with daily activities and skilled nursing care
LTC insurance can help protect individuals, families, and their assets against potentially catastrophic LTC costs. However, it isn’t appropriate for everyone. For those on fixed incomes, or are having trouble covering basic living expenses, as well as people who only have modest assets, the cost of long-term care insurance may be unaffordable. Similarly, if one can comfortably self- fund the cost of extended care, they may not need LTC insurance.
There are many features to LTC policies, and broad range of customization options. Buyers can choose from:
Premiums for long-term care policies are not guaranteed and tend to increase over the life of the policy. In addition, premiums increase dramatically by age of issue – the older one is when first purchasing a policy, the higher the premium will be. Typical purchasers of long-term care insurance are between ages 50 and 65.
Self-Funding – This refers to paying for long-term care costs out of pocket with personal or family money, savings, pension benefits, stocks, or other investments. Self-funding may require planning well in advance in order to save a sufficient amount to cover the costs of long-term care.
Although my client is struggling with the emotional difficulties related to the decline of her father’s physical and cognitive health, she has peace of mind as a result of the financial planning we’ve done together. Exploring the impact of a long-term care event and the associated costs on her father’s comprehensive financial plan has given my client clarity on what options might be available for his ongoing care and support.
Given the likelihood of needing long-term care as we age, and the rising costs associated with care, this is a planning issue that can’t be ignored. Your comprehensive financial advisor can address the following questions with you:
Your financial advisor may guide you in planning appropriately for this risk, providing peace of mind in knowing you are protecting yourself and those you love.
[i] Source: https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-need
[ii] Source: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/health/long-term-care-statistics.html
[iii] Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4903036/
[iv] Source: https://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes/articles/nursing-home-facts-and-statistics
[v] Source: https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html
[vi] Source: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/long-term-care
[vii] Source: https://acl.gov/ltc/medicare-medicaid-and-more/medicaid
[viii] Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/ltcinsurance.asp