Needing home health care
You may recognize the need for skilled home health care when you notice that your aging father is constantly misplacing his glasses or unable to tell you the day of the week. Dementia and alzheimer’s disease do not come on suddenly. Symptoms appear gradually and they usually get worse over time.
If you or a member of your family needs help with bathing, preparing meals, or other normal daily chores and activities, a skilled home care professional may be able to provide just the type of help you need.
How to pay for home health care
Unless a person has reached the point where they require 24-hour care, most people would prefer to stay in their own homes and maintain a certain amount of independence. For many, being able to pay for home health care can be problematic. Home health care can be prohibitively expensive and Medicare does not cover the cost. You and your family have to come up with a viable way to pay for home health care. You should consider all viable funding options. Some options may be better than others.
Sell your Life Insurance Policy through a Medicaid Life Settlement
One often overlooked asset that can be an ideal source of money to pay for home health care is your life insurance policy. Did you know that a life settlement broker can help sell your life insurance policy through a medicaid life settlement for an amount substantially above its cash value or even when there is no cash value? You can then use the life settlement funds to pay for home health care or anything else you want or need.
Other options to pay for home health care
Use your Savings
If you are fortunate enough to have a large bank account, you can pay for a home health care provider out of your savings. While this could be a viable solution, it does have the consequence of lowering your net worth, which may or may not be important to you. The longer you need home health care, the more you will draw down your savings.
Family Assistance
Suppose you invested the majority of your assets in an annuity to provide a regular stream of income for the rest of your life. That income may be enough to pay your regular monthly expenses, but not enough to hire someone to come to your house 20 hours per week and take care of you. If you have siblings, children, or grandchildren, they may be able to help you out. Even though you know your family will do their best to help, you probably do not want to place the financial burden on them.
Reverse Mortgage
If you own your house outright or have a substantial amount of equity in it, you may be able to access money by doing a reverse mortgage. While the best features include getting access to the money locked-up in your house and being able to stay in your home indefinitely, there are other things that are not so attractive. You’ll pay high transaction costs and your estate will be worth less when it is eventually passed on to your beneficiaries.
Give up Life’s Little Luxuries
In order to pay for home health care you may have to make some sacrifices that may make life not as comfortable as it could be. Is it worth turning the thermostat up to 78 degrees on a hot summer day? Are you willing to give up the occasional dinner at a nice restaurant, or cable, or the internet?