When you are budgeting for the future, you should certainly set aside funds for your active retirement years. At the same time, there are additional expenses that you may encounter when you reach the twilight years.
A significant percentage of senior citizens will need assistance with their activities of daily living. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 70 percent of people who are attaining senior citizen status will need help with their day-to-day needs eventually.
Long-term care is very expensive, and Medicare will not pay for custodial care. As a result, Medi-Cal is often used by seniors in California who need help with long-term care expenses.
Staying at Home
When you think about long-term care, you may immediately envision nursing homes and assisted living communities. Many people do receive care in facilities such as these, but there are some drawbacks that go along with full-time residence in an assisted living facility.
Clearly, you are uprooted from your home, and this is going to be disconcerting to many people on a number of different levels. In addition to this, there is the matter of cost.
If you could receive assistance while you remain at home, you may enjoy the best of both worlds. You remain in familiar surroundings, and you spend less for the care that you need.
This is not to say that in-home care provided by a professional caregiver is inexpensive. Genworth Financial has been conducting an ongoing survey that keeps a finger on the pulse of long-term care costs across the United States.
According to figures that they are circulating for 2014, the median annual cost for homemaker services in California is $50,336. The median annual cost for a home health aide is $52,624.
To provide a comparison, the survey states that the median cost for a year in a private room in a nursing home in California is just over $104,000.
Medi-Cal & In-Home Care
Medi-Cal will in fact pay for in-home care, but it is done through the Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services Waiver program. The reason why it is called a waiver program is because the eligibility requirements are less stringent than they are for full and direct Medi-Cal coverage.
If you need assistance but you would like to live at home, this program may provide you with a solution.
Free Medi-Cal Planning Consultation
Medi-Cal rules and regulations can be confusing, and they are complex. We have dedicated elder care professionals on staff, and they thoroughly understand the Medi-Cal program.
Our firm offers a free 15 minute phone consultation to people in the greater San Jose area to determine whether a free 1-hour consultation at our office will be useful. To arrange a consultation, send us a message through our contact page, or call us at (408) 356-9200 or (831) 476-2400.
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