What are Today’s Options for Private Pay Funding of Long-term Care?
Russo Law Group, P.C. is pleased to share this article on behalf of guest author Don Poole.
It is becoming more competitive to get access to the best long-term care providers, as 10,000 Baby Boomers turn age 65 every day. Statistics show that 70% or more of people over the age of 65 will require long-term care services. Today there are 10,000,000 people receiving long-term care in the United States. People with the ability to afford private pay care are typically given preferential access to the best care providers and locations; while those on Medicare and Medicaid are given little choice as to where they can go and will usually have to share a room with another person.
Tremendous pressure is being placed on tax payers to cover Medicare and Medicaid budgets because the demand for long-term care services is growing rapidly at the same time costs are rising every year. Courts and the government are doing more to push financial responsibility to cover their own care back on families. For example, the requirements to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid funded long-term care services continue to become more stringent; states have the right to pursue families in probate court to recover funds spent by Medicaid if they discover that assets were in fact available; and filial responsibility laws in the states will hold extended family members legally responsible to cover unpaid long-term care bills.