Private Pay
According to the National Institute on Aging, many older adults pay for care with their own personal funds. This may include monies from personal savings, a retirement fund, pension, income from stocks and bonds, or proceeds from the sale of a home.
Payment options include:
- Check
- Credit Card (fees may apply)
VA Benefits
There is a commonly unrecognized Veterans Administration (VA) benefit for use by either the veteran or a surviving spouse called Aid & Attendance. It is solely used to offset medical expenses, i.e., home care and medical bills. The benefit provides money monthly to supplement medical expenses, including home care. All benefits are according to the medical expenses and medical needs of the individual. Discharged papers are needed to receive this benefit.
In order to find out more about the specifics of this VA benefit program, contact a VA Specialist partnered with Preferred Private Care about how the VA may help you or contact the VA directly at 877-294-6380. No money is needed to fill out an application, but receiving financial advice and planning may be a different story. Contact Preferred Private Care for more information.
There are many VA programs available to veterans, but the one program that will provide dollars to offset the cost of home care is the Aid and Attendance program:
- Direct Deposit benefits
- Payments for burials
- Paying for death pensions
- Money for education
- Home Loan Guarantee Benefits
- Compensations for Disabilities
- Medical Care assistance
- Vocational Rehabilitation as well as employment
- Compensation for Dependency Indemnity
- The location of the Veterans Administration Benefits Offices, located regionally
Receiving Aid and Attendance benefits may cause you to be unable to qualify for other government benefits such as Medicaid unless planned for properly. Your planner must be well versed in VA and Medicaid planning. Otherwise, you may be creating a larger problem for the future. Contact Preferred Private Care for the proper way to plan, so the decision must be made wisely.
Long Term Care Insurance
Home care services may be covered under a long-term care insurance policy if the needs specified by the insurance company are met. Long Term Care insurance will help to pay for costs that private health insurance does not cover. Let Preferred Private Care assist you or a family member determine your Long-Term Care eligibility, filing your claim, submitting weekly care logs, invoicing, and any other documentation required for reimbursement.
We work with the following Long-Term Care insurance companies, including, but not limited to:
- AIG Insurance
- American Fidelity & Liberty Insurance
- American General Life
- American Progressive
- Aviva Insurance
- Bankers Life
- Colonial American Life
- Genworth
- The Hartford
- John Hancock
- Lincoln Benefit Life
- Metlife
- Mutual of Omaha
- New York Life Insurance
- Penn Treaty
- Senior Health Insurance of Pennsylvania
- State Farm Insurance
- Travelers Insurance
- United Healthcare
- UNUM
- US Life
Medicaid Home and Community Based Waiver Program
What Medicaid Is In Short
Taking care of a loved one for a long time is extremely costly for anyone. Medicaid is a program that is paid for by the government to take care of people that have an income of $2130 or less and assets of $2000.00 or less, depending on the current requirements.
The idea of Medicaid benefits is that aged and/or disabled people being able to get assistance as far as healthcare costs are concerned. The help that is given is based, logically, on the financial need.
Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is the agency responsible for Medicaid. Although, there is a corporate head office as well. The agency that enrolls people in Medicaid is The Department of Children and Families (DCF). By using state agency and private organization contacts, Medicaid can offer clients more.
When it comes to your finances, talking to licensed financial planners or elderly care lawyers. Although a costly move, it is worth the price that you have to pay in order to get these services. They can assist you with preparing an application and knowing what governmental financial assistance you are able to receive while using other certain benefits. This is where their expertise comes in handy. Go to http://ahca.myflorida.com/medicaid/ to learn more.
Cost and Money Matters
Studies show that the most cost-effective method of caring for people is to place them in the lowest level of care, such as a home or assisted living facility. Nursing homes are not as economically sound. When the senior does not need 24-hour assistance, then, it is wasted money that the government can use for something more useful. This is why state and local governments have Nursing Home Division programs and Medicaid waivers so that the cost of care is not as high. The programs are based on financial and health needs.
If you want to find out more on this specific topic, go to
http://ahca.myflorida.com/Medicaid/hcbs_waivers/index.shtml/.
Does Medicare Pay for Home Care?
Medicare does pay for home care, but then again, it does not. At the moment, Medicare pays 100 percent for visits to the home by physical therapists, aides for bath visits, medical social work, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and registered nurses. The people do not stay after the task is performed, however.
Another catch. Bath visits are not considered skills. You have to take a skill evaluation from a registered RN who orders the other skills for you. Without the need for other skills, you are unable to receive an aide for a bath visit. Then again, Medicare does NOT cover any assistant or aide that helps with personal care and/or homemaking chores. The reason being that these are tasks that last longer. The caregiver could be there for hours, weeks, or even for good. The service gets paid for by the client’s Long Term Care Policy or their own money. To find out more about Medicare, please visit www.medicare.gov. They will supply you with much more detailed information about the program.