If you lay awake at night wondering how you will pay for long term care expenses, you are not alone. Fortunately, with medical advances and educational health awareness, we are living longer. That’s a good thing…right? Well, unfortunately, the cost of healthcare has gone through the roof. In fact, the national average cost for a private nursing home is approximately $77,000 per year. In the Pima and Maricopa Counties of Arizona, the average cost is approximately $6,400 per month.
What are some ways to pay for long term care? Actually, there are a myriad of options to help pay for long-term healthcare costs. I will address just a few of the more common options in this posting. First, you can make a monthly withdrawal from the bank savings account. Do you have an extra $6,400 per month to pay for healthcare costs? For most Americans the answer is “No”. However, this is the method that most Americans start with due to a lack of awareness of the other options our there. Many Americans have faced bankruptcy due to the overwhelming costs of long term care.
Second, apply for long-term care insurance. The first stumbling block might be the qualification process, which often has strict requirements. Assuming you get over the qualification hurdle, the policies have the potential to increase considerably over time and may have to be dropped because they are not affordable.
And finally, an individual can apply for government assistance through the federal program called Medicaid. Although this is becoming a very popular option, there are many stringent requirements that must be met before the government will step in and help with payment of long-term healthcare costs.
We must not ignore the statistics that reveal our life-spans are becoming longer. The best plan of attack against the rising healthcare costs is to start planning today. Where do you start? By planning ahead you can get through the application processes and find ways to use the best of each payment method. Please see one of our experienced estate planning attorneys for a free consultation to review your plan of attack. Schedule your appointment by calling 888.222.1328.
What the Attorneys of Morris Hall Can Do For You:
The attorneys at Morris Hall have 100’s of years of combined experience ensuring that families’ assets are protected from probate, unnecessary taxes, creditors, ex-spouses and Medicaid spend-down. The attorneys also help those in Arizona to apply for and receive Medicaid assistance and Veterans Benefits. Our Arizona offices are located in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tucson, Prescott, Flagstaff and Arrowhead. Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!
This blog should be used for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.
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