Paying for Senior Care

Many skilled nursing facilities offer residents the option of setting up a trust fund into which money can be deposited to pay for care and personal needs. Such accounts are supposed to simplify money management for seniors, but they also come with risks.

The world of hospital bills and insurance claims can be confusing, but medical billing advocates are specially trained to help patients and their families make sense of all their paperwork and save money by detecting costly billing errors.

Crowdfunding can help family caregivers harness the power of the internet to help offset a loved one’s medical and long-term care expenses.

Hip replacement costs can range from $11,000 to nearly ten times that much, depending on which hospital you ask, according to new research.

Applying for Medicaid for an aging parent can be tricky. One caregiver describes his personal experience navigating the Medicaid application, dealing with the government and the red tape that comes with applying for Medicaid.

The median cost of assisted living in the U.S. is $4,995 per month, but costs vary due to location, level of care needed, and other factors.

The likelihood that a spouse will need nursing home care increases in later years. In some cases, the healthy spouse is legally responsible for paying nursing home costs with their own assets, regardless of how long they've been married.

The average senior pays nearly $39,000 in out-of-pocket medical costs during their final five years of life, even when most of their expenses are covered by Medicare, according to a recent analysis. Out-of-pocket costs soar for many on medicare.

Some long term care insurers offer policies where two people share one pool of benefits, known as "shared care" policies.

A nationwide survey reveals that most elders are (or expect to be) cared for by their family members. Nearly half of the caregivers surveyed claimed that they would benefit from some outside assistance, researchers found that only 15 percent took advantage of these kinds of programs.

Cost is a major factor in choosing an independent living community, assisted living facility or nursing home. When planning for long term care costs, seniors should anticipate paying even more for room, board and care over time.

When your parent's move into a senior living facility, you might be responsible for dealing with senior living facility bills on your parent's behalf. Here are a list of ways to deal with senior living facility bill errors.

Dependent qualifications and use of funds depends on which FSA you have: Medical Care FSA / Health Care FSA or Dependent Care FSA.

At what age should you purchase long-term care insurance? The younger you are, the lower the premiums, but there are risks and benefits to the timing of starting a long-term care policy.

Long-term care insurance policies cover the cost of assisted living, nursing homes, home health care and other services related to long-term health care.

If a person dies and does not use their long-term care insurance, the premiums are not refundable.

Inflation protection on a long-term care insurance policy makes sure that your policy keeps up with the rising costs of home care, assisted living and nursing homes.

The age limit for buying long-term care insurance is usually 84 years old.

Seniors who only require help with activities of daily living and remain in assisted living communities for many years may run the risk of depleting their savings. So, what happens when a resident can no longer afford the costs of assisted living?

Yes, you can rent the home while your parents are in a nursing home and on Medicaid.