Long term care rates vary according to setting and the health care requirements of an individual. If you require a higher level of care you need to pay more while if you need minimal care and supervision then you’ll spend less. Most people if not all prefer the in-home care setting. Research has shown that about 90% of the country’s population prefers this LTC setting over a nursing home. Upon asking some of the respondents why they opt to receive care at home, they said they feel safer and secured when they are at home. Those who want to receive care at home should contact a home health care agency and if they cannot find one in their area they can ask for assistance from their state’s Area Agencies on Aging. Now back to in-home care, this form of LTC is focused on providing custodial or personal care. An individual receiving in-home care can avail assistance from a home health aide who is responsible for helping the elderly and disabled individuals with their activities of daily living (ADLs) like eating, bathing, dressing, use of the toilet, management of continence, and transferring from the bed to the chair or vice versa. Home health aides can also provide home care recipients minimal supervision with their medications. Most people that need home health aides are those living alone, or oftentimes left alone during the day as their kids have to go to work. At present, a family who has a loved one receiving in-home care spends over $36,000 every year. However, if the recipient of home care is living alone she will have to spend more for care as she’s definitely going to need homemaker services which includes cooking, meal preparation, laundry washing, and housecleaning among others. Long Term Care Rates for Institutional and Community-Based Care Should the time come that you would require more assistance with your day-to-day activities, you could consider an assisted living facility. Assisted living facilities, like in-home care, are more focused on providing personal care but unlike the latter, assisted living is an all-inclusive personal care package. For $3,477 a month, you or a loved one who is in need of care can already receive assistance with his or her ADLs, homemaker services, engage in social and recreational activities, and be provided with transportation to and from the doctor. What assisted living does not provide is medical care, treatments, and therapy sessions. Individuals with chronic illnesses or injuries and are in need of therapy sessions go to nursing homes to receive the quality of care they need. Nursing home residents or their families spend $363 every day on average for a private room. This number, however, can go up depending on one’s requirements. LTC specialists have explained that at the onset of care, one can take refuge in his own home but as his health condition continues to degenerate and in-home care is no longer enough to address his needs, his family has to consider moving him into an LTCI facility. However, as explained here earlier long term care rates vary according to setting and requirements. If you think you’re at risk of higher levels of care, start working out a plan that will help you shoulder the cost of care.
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