Touchstone Healthcare Community

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.

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.

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.

If you’re a senior who is receiving Social Security income, you can use it to help pay for your nursing home expenses. However, it’s important to note that Social Security usually isn’t enough to cover the cost of living in a nursing home. You’ll need to use another form of income, whether that’s long-term care insurance or savings you may have, to pay for Social Security in its entirety. It’s also important to note that if you are using Medicaid to pay for your nursing home costs, you may need to forfeit some or all of your Social Security income, depending on how much you receive.

If you are paying your nursing home costs with savings or long-term care insurance, you won’t have to worry about losing your assets. However, if you are using Medicaid to pay for your nursing home costs, you may have to forfeit your assets in order to qualify for coverage. This is because Medicaid is only available to individuals who fall under a certain income limit.