Costs for assisted living, independent living and nursing home

10 years ago

I've been researching places for my mother. What I have found so far is.....

Independent living = your own apartment with a dining room (no more cooking) and once a week maid service, transportation also available, costs around $3,000 monthly.

Assisted living can go from $3,500 to $6,000 depending how much help is needed.

Nursing home is $7,000 to $8,000 per month.

My Mom was in independent living until she fell and fractured pelvis and had a brain bleed. Then she went into a rehab place. There, she fell again, fractured collar bone.

Now I have been told she needs 24 hour care, so I have chosen a nursing home for her near me (I live 3 hours north and this has really taken a toll on me).

Needless to say this has been a real eye opener for my family. I have sold her house, am cleaning out her apartment and have to decide what stays and what goes. My house is small and no basement.

We will get thru this, but it's not easy!

Kathy G in MI

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User

10 years ago

Your costs are almost opposite here. With some differences. Independent living which depends on if you have a down payment or on a month to month with no down payment can range from $800, no meals, to $2,500, with two meals. No one seems to have three meals. Assisted living base cost is about $5,000 plus attendant care which can run from $800 up to about $4,000. Once a person needs the $4,000 range many Assisted living places will no longer care for them. Nursing homes seem to use the Medicare/Medicaid unwritten guidelines, means I have not found it in writing, of mid $5,000. Niece wanted us to move to Minneapolis and the range for assisted living there was between $8,000 to $11,000.

If like my husband you need two attendants to care for family member or they are over 250 pounds you must use a nursing home as assisted living places will not accept. I was initially looking at assisted living places for him. He has some form of dementia then developed a UTI. Unexplained consequence he could not stand or walk for months afterward. Should have no connection but it happened. Since he was 318 at that time the hospital doctors would only release him to a nursing home. He is down to 246 in the nine months he has been there. After that explanation his nursing home costs $5,548.61 a month with extra charge for medicine. This is in the mid range of nursing home costs in this area.

A suggestion for anyone looking for a nursing home is to look at ones that accept Medicaid patients. They are inspected at least once a year and are generally better at record keeping and seemed cleaner when I was looking. We are lucky??? that we will not have to worry about Medicaid for at least ten years or so.

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kathyg_in_mi
Original Author
10 years ago
Interesting 01. Mom is down to 92 pounds, they keep trying to get her to gain weight. I figure, at $8,000 per month we have nearly 3 years in funds. When the $ get low, she can get some VA help too. K
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In the past few years I've gone through a similar, but not identical, situation with my mother. She was a very strong willed and intelligent woman, and the family struggled with her physical decline. My father died in 1980 and she coped with the house for several years afterwards. But eventually it was too much for her. She moved in with me 9 years ago, then into an independent living facility 3 years ago. She passed away just a couple weeks ago. (Guess that explains why I'm sitting at the computer sleepless at 3:30am!) The decision to move from my home into independent living was very painful for all of us, so I'm sympathetic with what you are going through. I guess it was about a 6 month process from the time we first started talking about it until it happened. With 2 parents involved, your process will likely take a little longer. We were able to finally convince my mother that we would handle all the parts of the move that she didn't know how to do, that we would be there often to help with church, doctor visits, groceries, weekly dinners out, etc. Our biggest concern about having her still at home was that she had no social life, no one close to her age to talk to and share with, and no one around for too many hours in the day. We were only here in the evenings and both my husband and I had to travel some for our jobs. It's very important for elderly folks who are on medications to eat at the same time every day so they can take their meds. With our work schedules, even though I changed jobs to be home more often, meal time wasn't as standard as she needed it to be. And she started falling down a lot. No injuries, but we knew it was only a matter of time. Like I said, it was a hard time for us all. She felt like we were kicking her out and we felt like we had failed and could not take care of her. But after checking out a couple places, she found one that appealed to her. She declared at the time that she would be dead in 6 months, but with so many stresses removed she lived 3 years and made many good friends. I won't tell you she ever stopped complaining but her life there was good and the people around her valued her friendship and the support she gave them. Asolo gave you good advice: without having your folks declared incompetent by the court, you can't force a power of attorney. They have to willingly sign it. And under no circumstances can you sign their Will. However, you can write the Will up and ask them to sign it - be sure to have it witnesses! I would recommend you keep it as simple as possible - maybe even just one page that states you and your siblings will split everything equally - that way you have the greatest chance of your father agreeing to sign it. Part of his grumpyness may be fear. It's scary to realize you aren't in control of your own life anymore and in many people that fear comes out as anger. If he was like that before, it will only get more pronounced as he ages. Your parents are lucky to have you there to help them and to try to make things easier for them. Be patient and take it slow. They are used to taking care of you, so it will be hard for them to see the roles switch. Let your parents have as much control and dignity as possible; they've earned it and they need it now more than ever. For my mother, depending on someone else felt like failure to her and there was no way to eliminate that. We just tried - and sometimes failed - to make it as easy as possible. But it was worth the effort. Kate
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If you parents are not able to obtain some 'help' thru some agency that will cover the cost, then I would suspect that you will be covering the cost. First step, contact every agency you can think of that might cover the cost; my Mom (88) had four day a week help for many years, but my Dad paid for it; then they went to 5 day a week, now they are at the stage of live in help, which my Dad is paying for - it costs him around $24K a year. Fortunately my Mom inherited some money about 20 years ago which is what they have been using - they will run out of the inheritance in another 2 years. My Dad is 92 and he can't physically do the things for her she needs. Would a Hoyer lift help with the lifting? If so (and you are in the US), if her Dr. would prescribe one Medicare (if that is what she has) would pay for it - does she need a hospital bed? again, Medicare would pay for that. My Dad refuses to put Mom in a nursing home 'as long as she knows who I am', plus, since they have assets, they would have to pay for the nursing home until they use those assets up. He would rather have her at home (and use the assets as he sees fit). Mom now has hospice care (since she has an 'incurable' condition, advanced MS). She has been with hospice for one year, she was just requalified. Home health care might be available, if her Dr. will send the paperwork to Medicare. You do not get nearly as much 'help' with Home Health as you do with Hospice. Keep us posted - prayers for you and your parents. Carolyn
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I would suggest that if you pick one your selection should include looking at the skilled nursing area. My husband has some type of neurological problem originally diagnosed as Alzheimer's. Before I was told by one assisted living place that at over 250 he was not eligible for assisted living and most dementia units. I looked at many in this area to find one that had the atmosphere that I thought would be best for him. Although I was told that as a resident became worse they would stay in the unit I never saw through the open doors any that were bedfast. Then I found out the criteria here beyond the weight is that if a person would require more than one person to assist in things like transfer to and from a chair, bathing, and other types of care they are no longer eligible for assisted living. Some facilities have what I would call progressive living, independent, assisted, then skilled nursing. Perhaps not in the same building so you would need to look at both. Ask about the usage of the range in the room if they have one depending on how advanced in care you would need. I looked where my niece was in Minneapolis and was surprised that in a multistory building only three of the stoves were actually connected. They would connect with notice if family wanted to prepare a meal but expected resident to eat in the dining room. This particular one touted the convenience of a bistro that people could get food at all times. That food subsisted of sandwiches and fruit in a cooler. They only served two meals a day if you paid for the meal service. If you wanted an additional meal it was extra. So check out the meal plans. I too will be starting to look for assisted living places for myself although my husband is still in a nursing home doing well. Finance Some facilities have blanket rates for lodging and food with charges for additional care. Such as making certain you have proper meds etc. Others charge separately for lodging and food. These tend to have either prepaid meal plans or bill at the end of the month. Personally I would like to know how much I owe rather than having a surprise at the end of the month. Some centers have shuttles to take residents for things like groceries and activities. Find out if you must schedule in advance for a seat and what happens if the shuttle is full if you would like to shop for some of your food and extra treats. Good luck on your search.
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User
10 years ago
Start with the VA now as it takes time to gather all of the documents necessary and get on various lists. Is she the veteran or her husband? There may be a veterans home in your area when that time comes. I do not know if spouses are accepted at the homes. Some areas contract with private nursing homes to provide the care where homes are lacking. Cost depends on each state but most are around $2,000 a month. BIL suggested I sign up for Aid and Assistance but there is a income limitation for that. Try and find a book "Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors" mine has "Updated 2014" so probably is the last one available.
jakkom
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
>>A suggestion for anyone looking for a nursing home is to look at ones that accept Medicaid patients. >>

Wouldn't work in CA. All the better rated eldercare facilities DO NOT TAKE Medicaid-only patients. You must have sufficient financial resources for at least several years on A/L to be accepted as a resident.

If you run out of funds, some will let you stay and will apply for Medicaid on your behalf. Of the 8 we investigated, 3 would do that. The other 5 made the indigents leave as soon as a bed in a Medicaid-only facility was available.

Medicaid-only facilities here are almost all in the lowest 25% percentile on quality of care.

Senior-only housing complexes are rated differently. Most will not provide any care, limited meal plans but regular housekeeping and check-ins. Anyone needing medical assistance must pay and arrange for outside assistance on their own. The facilities may or may not restrict outside providers to an approved list.

State rankings for full-care facilities (not senior-only housing) are published yearly, available on CA's website. Not the easiest format to read, but easy to find.
User
10 years ago
I did not say Medicaid only facilities but ones that will accept Medicaid. I agree that there is a vast difference in some areas between the two. I was also posting about Nursing Homes not Assisted Living. Assisted Living is self-pay.
sushipup1
10 years ago
And not all of California is the same. My 92 yr old friend could no longer live alone, and at 6 one morning just before Christmas, she was outside wandering the apartment complex knocking on doors asking what time it was. Her DIL got her admitted to the hospital with the doctor's assistance. They played the system after that. After 3 days, she was transferred to the nicest nursing home in Salinas. The DIL (divorced from the son, who had died 6 years ago) had already done some of the Medicaid paperwork. Income was SS only, about $1600 a month. She was transferred to Medicaid after 20 days. The nursing home has rules that they have to accept so many Medicaid patients, percentage of their population. She is doing well, altho increasingly disoriented, but safe, and she's there to stay.
User
10 years ago
I was thinking about this last night. When I was looking for a place for my husband I did not find any Medicaid only Nursing Homes in this area. Will have to look on the states listing of NH's to see if there are any in this area. Sushipup you are correct about having to accept a certain number of Medicaid patients in NHs if Medicare will be paying part of the costs. This is primarily after hospital care homes.
sushipup1
10 years ago
Yes, to qualify, one must first spend three days (three midnights, technically) in a hospital. Medicare covers the first 20 days in the nursing home.

Costs for assisted living, independent living and nursing home

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kathyg_in_mi
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kathyg_in_mi
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