If you are among those who are under the impression that Medicare will take care of everything once you are a senior citizen, you would do well to understand the fact that nursing home expenses are not covered by Medicare.
This is a significant challenge for many individuals because nursing home care is very expensive. Across the country as a whole, the cost of a private room in a nursing home averaged over $90,000 last year. This average figure is higher in the state of California.
Statistics indicate that 70% of Americans will need some type of living assistance and 40% of senior citizens will need nursing home care.
The average length of stay for someone who enters a nursing home is over two years, with around 10 percent of nursing home residents ultimately requiring the care for at least five years. When you do the math regarding this length of stay coupled with the average annual expense, you are looking at a very large figure.
The stark reality is that the majority of senior citizens are not going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on nursing home care.
While Medicare won’t pay for long-term care, Medi-Cal can be of assistance if you can qualify. Because of the upper resource limits, you must be very measured as you plan ahead with Medi-Cal eligibility in mind to position your assets optimally.
To learn exactly how to proceed, it would be wise to discuss everything with an elder law attorney. Our firm has a thorough understanding of the Medi-Cal program, and you can feel free to register for one of our free Medi-Cal Planning Workshops or contact us to schedule a free consultation if you would like to get all the facts.
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