Assessing the Need for Long Term Care

What is long-term care?
Long term care is care provided for a wide range of personal, medical and social services for an extended period of time. Determining the need for long-term care is often done by a health professional who assesses the disability and recommends the level and duration of care needed.  Doctors, nurses, geriatric care managers or hospital discharge planners may be helpful.

Assessing the need
To determine the appropriate level of care, observe the daily activities that the person is involved with and see which ones they are struggling to accomplish. Once you have determined which daily activities need support, a few choices for care are possible. Family and friends can pitch in to cover certain needs while a homemaker service or home health aide can come in and offer support in other areas.

Homemaker service companies help those who need assistance with household duties such as cooking, cleaning and running errands. A home health aide can provide more extensive personal care, including bathing, dressing eating and transferring among other support.

Long term care insurance can help keep you in your home by covering the cost of in-home care and services when you need them. But it must be purchased before a need arises. Call me today at 440-255-5700 to learn more about the unique features and options available to you through long-term care insurance.

Your next step is to find the right company to fit your needs. 

Turning 65? Plan to attend "Getting Started with Medicare" for all the facts on Medicare.

Are you approaching age 65, or will you soon be going on Medicare for the first time? This is your opportunity for you to gain a basic understanding of how Medicare works. This class is designed to make Medicare easy to understand and help you get all your questions answered.

Plan to attend on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at the Lyndhurst YMCA or Wednesday, June 20 at Lakeland Community College. Please call SELREC or Lakeland Community College to register:

Wednesday, June 13, 2012
South Euclid, Lyndhurst Recreation
Lyndhurst YMCA
2 pm - 4 pm
5000 Mayfield Road
Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124
216-382-44300

Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Lakeland Community College
10 am - 12 noon
7700 Clocktower Drive
Kirtland, Ohio  44094
440-525-7116

You will find more classes listed on my website at www.mutskoinsurance.com.

Does Medicare Pay for Long Term Care?

It is projected that nearly 3 out of 4 people over the age of 65 will require some form of long-term care during their lifetime. While family and friends usually try to meet the needs of their loved ones, in most cases a professional caregiver will be needed as part of the long-term care plan.

Costs of care will vary, but the national averages for long term care in 2010 were as follows:

Homemaker Services:  $ 18/hour
Home Health Aid Services:  $ 19/hour
Assisted Living Facility (single)  $ 3185/month
Nursing Home (semi-private)  $ 185/day
Nursing Home (private room)  $ 206/day

A common misconception is that health insurance will pay for long-term care expenses. But the fact is that long term care is generally not considered medical care. Because of this health insurance plans will not pay for long term care expenses. Medicare will generally cover skilled care assuming the person has been in the hospital for at least 3 days. It will not provide care for an extended period of time (e.g. more than 100 days.) And it usually does not cover home or personal care.

Next:  How do you assess the need for assistance and care?

Getting Started with Medicare Class, May 21

                                                                                                                                                    

Are you approaching age 65, or will you soon be going on Medicare for the first time? This is your opportunity for you to gain a basic understanding of how Medicare works. This class is designed to make Medicare easy to understand and help you get all your questions answered.

Plan to attand on Monday May, 21st at the Willoughby Hills Public Library. Please call the library to register.

  
Monday, May 21, 2012
Willoughby Hills Public Library
6:00 – 7:30 pm
35400 Chardon Road
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
440-942-3362
You will find more classes listed on my website at www.mutskoinsurance.com.

Introducing The Senior Insider

Hi there. My name is Laura Mutsko and this is the first of many posts to my new blog, The Senior Insider. My hope is that through The Senior Insider  I can help you stay well-informed on matters that are important to you  . . . whether you're a Senior, a Baby Boomer or someone simply interested in important topics for older adults.

You'll find that I will be talking to you a lot about insurance matters. After all, I am an insurance broker and owner of Mutsko Insurance Services in Mentor. More importantly, there are so many things effecting and changing the insurance industry today, it can be difficult to keep up. As a reader of The Senior Insider, you will find reliable, straigh-forward updates on the changes that may affect your health care insurance, Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplements, Long Term Care Insurance and much more.

I also plan to encourage you to to stay active and involved because that's one of the best ways to insure your good health.  

If you have questions about Health or Life Insurance, please ask me. I'll be answering the most often asked questions right here in The Senior Insider.   




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