Mountainview Specialty Care Center

For many people, the high costs of a nursing home are far outside of their monthly budget. If you don’t have the money to pay for a nursing home, Medicaid will be the best option in most cases. Medicare requirements are determined by state governments and can differ based on where you live, but your income will need to be under a certain amount in order to qualify. In most cases, you will also be required to sell any property that you aren’t living in and sell any existing investments you have before you can qualify for Medicaid coverage.

Every state has state veterans’ homes, which are nursing homes that are subsidized by the state government and the VA. These homes are priced on a sliding scale depending on the veteran’s current income. The VA also offers stipends for long-term care costs. These stipends are often over $100 per day.

The terms “assisted living” and “nursing home” have different definitions, even though they are sometimes used interchangeably. An assisted living facility helps residents with their daily tasks, such as preparing meals, taking medications, and cleaning their spaces, but it does not provide ongoing medical care. The staff at an assisted living facility can take residents to their doctor’s appointments and provide help with common wellness issues, but they are not physicians and cannot provide the same level of care as a nursing home.

Nursing homes provide medical care around the clock, as well as help with everything from eating to bathing to dressing, depending on the patient’s needs. Nursing home patients are supervised by licensed physicians. Many patients move from assisted living to a nursing home after an injury or if a chronic condition gets too difficult to manage without daily care.

Caring for someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s can be very challenging. While every situation is different, there are some key signs that a dementia patient should be moved into a facility with care available around the clock. Some of these signs include:

• Frequent wandering
• Difficulty moving around
• No caregiver available locally
• Family caregivers are stressed and unable to maintain a balanced life

There are many factors that determine the cost of a nursing home, such as location and specific services. The average yearly cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home is $89,297, while a private room is $100,375. The costs for assisted living and retirement communities tend to be much more affordable as they do not provide extensive medical services. The average cost of an assisted living facility is $43,200 per year.