MEDICARE AND LONG-TERM HEALTH COSTS

If you suffer a significant health catastrophe you may need care from one or more professional institutions including nursing home, intermediate care, skilled nursing or home care facilities.  Paying for these services can use up your retirement nest egg very quickly.  Preparing for these expenses is an important aspect of your retirement financial planning.

Nursing home expenses in Colorado can easily be $8,500 a month or more.  Home care may cost $50-$100 per hour.  Private duty nursing costs may exceed that depending on the professional services you require.  Skilled Nursing (re-hab) facilities can cost more than $350.00 per day! The loss of family income, if your caregiver happens to be your son or daughter, can create an extreme financial and emotional hardship on those you love the most.

Medicare covers short term, medically necessary stays in skilled nursing facilities.  Medicare does not pay for custodial care.  The majority of all re-hab expenses are paid out-of-pocket by individuals and their families. Medicaid, a program for folks who have exhausted all of their financial resources, pays the majority of their expenses.   

Most seniors who have a choice choose home health care of course, and why?  The cost of the alternatives and because; “I want to go home”.

Here are some options. Private Home Health Care Insurance, Life Insurance cash value plans, Annuities and self-insurance techniques (your retirement savings), offer viable alternatives to spending down your or your children’s assets.  You owe it to everyone to plan ahead.  These are plans you make now, when you don’t need them, so that you have them when you do.

Mike & Angie Murphy, have been helping clients in Colorado for more than 49 years.  They are based in Windsor, CO and may be reached at 970-310-8201, 970-310-8369, on our website at Go-Seniors.com, on FaceBook at Go-Seniors Insurance or Email at IDMcoinc@hotmail.com.