Long-Term Care

Do you know someone who has spent time in a nursing home?  Have you ever thought about going into a nursing home yourself?  Most people answer the first question “yes” and the second question “no”.  It is one of those situations where we feel “It could never happen to me.” But studies show that approximately two (2) out of every five (5) people reaching age 65 will need some type of long-term care.  Are you one of the many people who would prefer to stay at home no matter what the cost?    Without proper planning, the lack of available services and the staggering price-tag may leave you with few alternatives.

In Illinois, the annual cost of nursing home care ranges from approximately $50,000.00 to over $120,000.00, and is climbing each year!  If you choose to stay at home, where most of us would prefer to be, and hire home health aides, the cost of your care could be even more.  Home health care costs vary widely, but agencies charge anywhere from $18 to $30 per hour for home health aides.  In some cases, people pay over $100,000 per year for 24 hour-a-day home care.  What many people fail to realize is that their health insurance and Medicare will not cover the cost of long-term care, whether at home, in assisted living or in a nursing facility. Paying for long-term care is a personal responsibility that has become a primary concern for all age groups across our state and the nation.

The causes of our long-term care crisis are many:  increasing costs; a growing population of seniors (baby boomers start turning 65 this year!); poor government management; medical technology resulting in greater longevity, whether in good health or bad; and the inability of families to care for our elderly at home.  The result of the crisis is that we must all “rethink” the way we plan for the future, and take into consideration the very real possibility that long-term care may become a part of our lives.  Recent federal legislation changed Medicaid eligibility rules to make it more difficult to qualify, and states including Illinois are considering more cuts to reign in spending on Medicaid. Especially in light of these changes, estate planning becomes even more important before the need for long-term care becomes a real issue.

This section of our site is designed to give you a better understanding of the components involved in long-term care planning; Medicare, Private Insurance, Medicaid, and Estate Planning, and to explain how recent changes in the law, and future trends, will affect tomorrow’s long-term care consumer. This is meant to be educational and should not be taken as legal advice. For personal advice on how to plan for your long-term care needs, call Northbrook and Chicago Long-Term Care Lawyer Jay Kaufman at (847) 521-4900. Jay serves estate-planning clients in Cook, Lake, Will, DuPage, and McHenry counties and throughout the state of Illinois.