I was President of a corporation that built, owned and operated an assisted living facility for ten years. It was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had. Most all residents were living alone with some having out of state children which resulted in a reclusive isolated lifestyle. The facility became its own community and most residents became much more out going and looked forward to meals and interaction with other people. They became more interested in their appearance and socially more vibrant. It was a rewarding experience for me and their was no doubt that it prolonged and benefited the lives of many people.
Long-Term Care Insurance
- Thread starter cycloner29
- Start date
I can't comment on the "worth-it-ness" of the insurance but will add my life experience here:
Both of my parents have been in assisted living since 2020 (5 years). Dad had to go to a nursing home earlier this year. Mom will be joining him soon.
All of their life savings is gone. All of it. They were very frugal people who saved a lot (but didn't do enough high-level financial planning).
Start getting involved in your parents finances about 5 years before you think you "need to."
Both of my parents have been in assisted living since 2020 (5 years). Dad had to go to a nursing home earlier this year. Mom will be joining him soon.
All of their life savings is gone. All of it. They were very frugal people who saved a lot (but didn't do enough high-level financial planning).
Start getting involved in your parents finances about 5 years before you think you "need to."
After my mother ran out of cash, the assisted living facility she lived in had a program to take her monthly annuity payment and SSI and she was allowed to keep $150.00. Her income was $2,250.00 a month. It was a neat deal. She has been gone a little over a year now. She required little care from the staff. That might have been the thing that made it all possible.
We have all heard about people or had relatives that went into long term care units or nursing homes and they bled the person of all their assists. This is one of the reason that as you are approaching retirement and applying for SS its a great time to sit down with a fiance person or your lawyer and come up with a plan that will be shield your assists if you have to go into a nursing home. Do not wait until it happens because of the 5 year rule, which is basically all assists must be placed into a trust or something like it for that length of time before the event occurs.
We looked into long term care insurance before we retired in 2023 and the plans ranged from around $500 to $1200 a month. We decided to go the trust route after meeting with our lawyers and while it cost more than a will, it will be cheaper when were gone for our children to gain access to the estate.
Planing now for the future can save you a lot of money and grief down the road.
We looked into long term care insurance before we retired in 2023 and the plans ranged from around $500 to $1200 a month. We decided to go the trust route after meeting with our lawyers and while it cost more than a will, it will be cheaper when were gone for our children to gain access to the estate.
Planing now for the future can save you a lot of money and grief down the road.
It's been a year since I was able to get my mother on Medicaid. I just had to do the yearly renewal to make sure she still has no money. Her bank statement is very simple
She receives $2,336 from social security
She pays $616 for Medicare part something
Her drug plan is now zero
The nursing home takes everything left except $50
$50 sounds terrible, but at 91 what is she going to buy? I tell her to tell me what she needs and I'll get it to her but she never really needs anything except snacks. She does have to share a room with another person, which can be challenging since the majority of the people there are not all there mentally. The people that work at these places are saints overall.
I have zero urge to live to 91. Of course I don't say that to her.
She receives $2,336 from social security
She pays $616 for Medicare part something
Her drug plan is now zero
The nursing home takes everything left except $50
$50 sounds terrible, but at 91 what is she going to buy? I tell her to tell me what she needs and I'll get it to her but she never really needs anything except snacks. She does have to share a room with another person, which can be challenging since the majority of the people there are not all there mentally. The people that work at these places are saints overall.
I have zero urge to live to 91. Of course I don't say that to her.
I feel exactly the same way, I just turned 64 last month, get me to my 80s and I will be happy with it and call it a life. Saw way to many relatives struggling with their health and loneliness to want to live into my 90s.
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What is/was your experience with Northridge Village? Did you have a family member live there? If so, how was the staff? Did your family member seem to like living there? If another family member needed a long term care facility would Northridge Village be on the list you would look at? Would you look at any other long term care facilities in the Ames/Des Moines area?
My grandma was going to live there earlier this year, but never ended up getting well enough to go. My mom only had very positive things to say about her interactions with the people there though.
Women on average live longer than men, that is the reason the long term insurance costs more for women. The insurance company is going to have to pay a lot more of a woman than a man. Go to any nursing home the ratio for women to men is at least 5 to 1. You see lots of women in these facilities and very few men.
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I agree 100% on the planning piece and sitting down and thinking/making decisions well before you need assistance or long term care.
Everyone's situation and priorities are different, but I would caution people to not just assume shielding all your assets in an irrevocable trust or other vehicle and going into a facility on Medicaid is the best decision for them.
I worked in the Drake Elder Law Clinic and as part of that visited several Medicaid long term care facilities to execute documents and ending up in some of those situations terrified me. Not all long term care facilities are equal and not having choice/options because you are going in on Medicaid would scare me. Most of the average or better facilities only have so many Medicaid beds available so you are rolling the dice on what is available when you need it and most people go into a long term care facility because a medical event has occurred so they have little to no timing flexibility.
This is only my personal option, but for a lot of people going in as a private pay resident that transitions to getting assistance from either the facility or Medicaid later leads to better outcomes. Combining that plan with some combination of doing in life gifts to children/grandchildren/organization and shielding some of your assets to be transferred at death, long before you need long term care.
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Any thoughts on the Senior Assisted Living & Memory Care facilities in Ames? Are the ones in the DSM/Ankeny area better?
In Ames both Green Hills and Northridge are very good and comparable to what you would find in the DSM area. In the Des Moines suburbs I would probably start by looking at Mill Pond (Ankeny), Walnut Ridge (Clive), and Cedar Ridge (West Des Moines) but there are several others on that level as well, I'm just a little more familiar with the 5 I listed.
That's alot of questions! Are you the marketing director? Lol. I'm very familiar with Northridge... Very nice facility and should probably leave it at that.
Considering the various Ames options for a family member. I've normally gone to DSM to buy autos vs Ames dealers. So not sure if some or all the Ames Senior Living/Memory Care facilities are on par with those in the DSM metro area. If some are, which ones in Ames are best to which ones might not compare favorably to those in DSM.
The points I was trying to make was to do it as your get ready to retire, and then after talking with professionals make the final decision based on what they are telling you. Many people have no plan in place and just let it slide right up until the point they need to put someone into a facility and it just drains their savings.
We followed the trust right, that does not mean it's the route that everyone should follow, just happened to be the wisest choice for us.
I think Northridge or Green Hills brings them to games @ Hilton. I always see some older folks get into the little busses between Hilton and Scheman.
The staff usually parks right next to the curb and will help them if they need it. Looks like an impressive set of people.
The staff usually parks right next to the curb and will help them if they need it. Looks like an impressive set of people.
To help you make your decision, I suggest that you take time to call a few Senior Living companies to determine what costs are today and ask them what they project those costs to become in the year you project you might need to activate your prospective LTC program. Buying a policy at a younger age gets you a lower premium, but also might mean you pay premium longer, and perhaps, more total premium. You just have your financial guy run the numbers on it. But also, you want to make sure the insurance company has the ability to perform in the future, so choosing an insurance company with a high financial rating (I believe AAA is the highest) is most important.
My wife & I (now ages 85 & 83) bought the best policy available about 30 years ago from Lincoln Benefit Life and paid it up as soon as we could. Therefore, we haven't paid premiums now for about 20 years and the value today is that we can collect $350/day each for facilities costs plus $350/day for non-facilities costs (food, therapy, medical, etc.). My problem is that I cannot stand the environment in the Senior Living facilities (we've been in many and even stayed as guests with friends of ours numerous time who live in one of the high end facilities in KC, MO), even though they are top notch in quality, have several different restaurants, pools, health clubs, etc.---because they are loaded with old farts who have walkers, wheelchairs, etc. and there are absolutely no youth in sight, other than some of the staff.
But, I'm obviously going to change my attitude if we are going to collect on our policy anytime in the future!! I'm just nowhere ready for it!! Good luck to you on your decision. It is one of life's most important decisions---senior living costs can eat through an estate in a matter of just a few years.
