texasmama Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Medications can be expensive for seniors, but not all seniors are on high-priced meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 So you think people were spending $1000 a month above and beyond what it cost to live there? Oh! No probably not unless you count medical bills. I guess I misunderstood! Sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 And not to be argumentative about how much people need for monthly expenses once they are in assisted living...but in my experience it is nowhere near $1000/month. No car, not enough energy to just "go shopping", not a huge wardrobe needed, food included in the rates, and so on. Haircuts / beauty parlor, cards and gifts for friends, stamps and stationery, that sort of stuff...but the monthly discretionary spend in assisted living is not a lot. Agreeing. We supplied my mother's inexpensive, comfortable wardrobe from Walmart. She grew her hair into a flattering, pull-back style. Personal toiletries were not expensive, especially since staff scarcely used them. I even gave up on toothpaste. (I had written the start date on the tube with a finepoint marker.) The same unused tube sat ignored by staff for 1-1/2 years. Mom's dentist sent a furious letter to the nursing home about the stinking wreckage in her mouth, a letter which effected no change whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I'm reading the other thread and I'm shocked at the prices of assisted living. I was trying to research it and found that medicare does not pay for long term care. So how then do people afford such high prices? I wouldn't even be able to pay $1000/mo let alone the over $2000 and even much higher cost of long term care. My mom only has Humana which is a type of medicare that I don't understand. If it doesn't cover senior type living facilities, how do families handle this? I'm assuming she'll have to live with me but if her care gets beyond what I can handle, what am I supposed to do? Ahh... I was a little hesitant even to open this. I can't imagine how crazy the costs are today. They deplete all their assets and then get stuck in whatever home will take them as a Medicaid/Medicare recipient unless their kids take them. That's what happens. Mom/Dad need to gift away their assets more than 5 years prior to any nursing home needs..and who knows that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 When we lived in another state, we went with church choir to a county-run nursing home to sing to an elderly Orthodox man. The overpowering, depressive conditions remain in my mind to this day. My secret terror is that I shall end up in a comparable dump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Long term care should be part of your savings plan, along with regular retirement. It is very pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 When we lived in another state, we went with church choir to a county-run nursing home to sing to an elderly Orthodox man. The overpowering, depressive conditions remain in my mind to this day. My secret terror is that I shall end up in a comparable dump. I would go off into the woods alone and disappear before I would ever let that happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 My mom is 87. She doesn't need assisted living, but she is unable to live alone. She doesn't eat well, and she gets lonely. Two years ago, she moved into an Independent Living community (Brookdale). She has a small pension, and she gets SS (she worked for the same organization for 30 years). She also has a paid-for house. When she moved into the independent living community, we convinced her to keep her house and rent it out. None of her sources of income are very large, but together, they pay for her independent living facility, which includes meals, apartment cleaning, and some laundry. They also check on her every day, have exercise and recreational activities, limited transportation for appointments, etc. The facility contains an Assisted Living section, so those services are available to her on an a la carte basis. They charge $20 an hour, and bill quarter hours. So, for instance, if she just needs reminders to take her meds, they would charge $5 each time. Bathing would cost more because it takes longer. There are always nurses available if she gets a fever feels ill. They will call an ambulance if it's warranted. They notify me whenever something happens. When the time comes for her to need assisted living, it will be relatively simple to move her to that part of the building. Her pension/SS/rental income may not cover the increased cost, so she would have to go into her savings. Eventually, she would need to sell her house. Ultimately, Medicaid will step in for a nursing home, but we're hoping that it won't come to that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 When we lived in another state, we went with church choir to a county-run nursing home to sing to an elderly Orthodox man. The overpowering, depressive conditions remain in my mind to this day. My secret terror is that I shall end up in a comparable dump. I have been in facilities that had such a depressing air about them that I left crying. I have been in ones that did not have that heavy feel. No facility will ever care for a loved one like family, but some are adequate and necessary and even good. They can be very expensive and few and far between, though. Not all loved ones can be cared for at home for 100% of their lives. My dh's grandmother that we cared for in her last two months of life had advanced Alzheimer's and could not be watched 24/7 at home by us so she lived in assisted living and then a memory care unit and came to us when she was wheelchair bound. While she was fully mobile, she could have wandered off. Also, she could not be reasoned with and was always trying to "get home" so it would not have been safe to have her at a private home without 24/7 care, which was prohibitively expensive. Those elderly who remain mentally sharp have more options, IMO. We could have cared for her in our home for years if she had been able to participate in her own care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 My Dad did not want to go into an assisted living facility so he continued to live independently with help (Meals on Wheels, a daughter who could drive him to doctors appointments, a church deacon who paid regular calls). But the issue that changed everything was toileting. My father could not bear the indignity of having a daughter assist him with toileting. Or showering. This was a major wake up call for him, a detail that he had not really considered when contemplating his own near end of life care. This is a reality that needs to be considered. My father lived off his pension and social security for more than twenty years and barely dipped into savings at the end. He was fortunate to have good health. And fortunate to have savings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.