How to pay for assisted living

How do I pay for Assisted Living for a parent or myself when I am elderly or incapacitated?

How to pay for Assisted Living is a questions a lot of people are asking now. When you are no longer able to provide personal care for yourself, or for your loved one, you may need to pay others to provide that personal care service. This may be by either hiring a provider to come to your home, moving to an Assisted Living Home if you can do some personal care on your own, or moving into a Nursing home that provides all the personal care and medical help that you need.

The following are some ways of paying for Senior Living.

1. Private Pay

Using your personal income or savings is the quickest and simplest way to pay for Senior Living. You can also draw cash from your investments in stocks, bonds, 401K, or IRAs that you may have. However, the cost for personal care services can use up all your income, savings, and investments.

Many times families also pool resources such and time and money to care for an aging loved one. Family member who work can offer more money and those who can’t or don’t work can put in more time watching and caring for a loved family member.

2. Medicaid Benefits

Once your Private Pay sources get low enough, or are exhausted, you can apply for Medicaid. If you qualify for Medicaid, it may take several months to start receiving payments so you’ll need to apply as early as you can.

Medicaid is a Federal Program but the benefits are administered at the state level which vary by the state you live in. There are no guidelines requiring a state to pay for Assisted Living.

We will discuss Virginia as Family Senior Solutions is in Lake Ridge, VA. Please check with your states guidelines for clarification.

Medicaid waivers in Virginia have limits and are only available to certain number of people per year. The Virginia Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus ( or CCC+) waiver is available to residents of VA who are at least 65 years of age and require hospital or nursing home level of care. CCC+ will help you to find a provider which best suites you and works to coordinate additional services with the providers listed below.

Aetna Better Health
1-855-652-8249 
Press #1 and ask for Care Coordination

Anthem Healthkeepers Plus
1-855-323-4687
Press #4

Magellan Complete Care of VA
1-800-424-4524

Optima Health Community Care
757-552-8398 or Toll Free: 1-866-546-7924

UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
1-866-622-7982

Virginia Premier Health Plan
1-877-719-7358
Select prompts: 3-3-4-1

3. Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits

If you are a veteran, or the surviving spouse of veteran, you may be eligible for the Veterans Aid and Attendance benefits. (Described on the VA website https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/)

A wartime veteran, or their surviving spouse, with limited income may be eligible to receive a non-service related pension up to the limits shown below.

Single sick Vet | 22,938/Year
Healthy Vet; Sick Spouse | 18,000/Year
Married Vet both sick | 27,194/Year
Married Vets both sick | 36,387/Year
Surviving Spouse | 14,761/Year

Eligibility of Veterans Aid and Attendance is described on the VA Website as the following.

Am I eligible for Veterans Pension benefits from VA?
If you meet the VA pension eligibility requirements listed below, you may be eligible for the Veterans Pension program.
Both of these must be true:
* You didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, and
* Your yearly family income and net worth meet certain limits set by Congress. Your net worth includes all personal property you own (except your house, your car, and most home furnishings), minus any debt you owe. Your net worth includes the net worth of your spouse.
Find out about Veterans Pension rates
And at least one of these must be true about your service. You:
– Started on active duty before September 8, 1980, and you served at least 90 days on active duty with at least 1 day during wartime, or

– Started on active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, and served at least 24 months or the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions) with at least 1 day during wartime, or
– Were an officer and started on active duty after October 16, 1981, and you hadn’t previously served on active duty for at least 24 months.

And at least one of these must be true. You:

– Are at least 65 years old, or
– Have a permanent and total disability, or
– Are a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability, or
– Are getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income

There are a few types of VA assistance available for those over 65 years of age: The Basic Pension for low income veterans; and the Aid and Attendance for veterans that need assistance with daily needs. There is a third type of assistance, the Housebound Pension for veterans, regardless of age, with a disability rating of 100% that prevents them from leaving their home. The disability does not have to be related to the veteran’s military service.

4. Residential Property Options

Renting your home

Renting part, or all, of your current home will provide you with income to help pay for your personal care services. You have to be sure to rent to qualified tenants that will take care of your property and have the ability to pay. This may require the help of a Real Estate Agent to check out prospective renters for you.

Get a Reverse Mortgage

If you own you home, and your spouse or dependents still need to live in the home, then you may want to consider a reverse mortgage loan. This will allow you to borrow money on the equity on your home. The borrowed money has to be repaid when you need to terminate the loan, so you probably may have to sell your home in order to repay. If you plan to leave your home to your descendants, this may be the last option to consider.

Selling your Home

Selling your home allows you to get a large sum of money to put in your savings and use to pay for senior living care. When the home sale takes long to complete, you may have to get a short-term loan, also known as a Bridge Loan, if you have to move to an assisted living home quickly. You can repay the bridge loan at the closing of your home sale.