New York Times By PATRICK EGAN This fall, my father sat down for a semi-annual assessment with staff members at his assisted living facility in Tinton Falls, N.J. They decided his condition — at 72, he has advancing Parkinson’s disease — necessitated an upgrade to the next level of care. The meeting yielded an upgraded bill, too: a nearly 18 percent bump, about $12,000 a year. Most assisted living residents foot the bill on their own or with help from family. Cost increases typically come…
Posts tagged "Cost of Care"
Cost of Long Term Care and Nursing Home Prices Jump
The cost of private nursing home care may have increased about 14% over the past 2 years, causing the average nursing home prices to jump. Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J. (NYSE:PRU), has reported that figure in its 2010 long term care cost study. Prudential found that the cost of assisting living facilities has increased just 2% since it published a review of 2008 long term care prices. The recession has slowed cost increases at some facilities and caused others to close down completely, the company…
Cost of Care, Nursing HomePremiums for the Popular Medicare Advantage Continue to Increase
The very popular Medicare Advantage coverage that seniors elect as part of Medicare to cover medical and prescription drug coverage became significantly more expensive in 2010 than it was last year. Reflecting cut backs in government funding, private insurers who offer elective Medicare Advantage coverage decided they would raise rates this year instead of reducing services. This is bad news especially for the 8.5 million seniors currently enrolled in these cost saving programs. The premiums increased by more than double for some seniors that are…
Cost of Care, MedicareNursing Home Costs Rising at Twice the Rate of Inflation
A recently released study shows that the costs of care in a nursing home are growing at twice the rate of inflation. It should be no surprise to anyone currently looking at making the move into assisted living or long term care that it is an expensive proposition. Complicating matters for families is the impact of the economy on the value of assets such as a home or investments in stocks and mutual funds. The report lists the least (and most) expensive states for nursing…
Cost of Care, Nursing HomeAmerica Owes our Oldest Citizens an Apology
In a recent commentary for CNN Politics, Bob Greene wrote a very compelling piece about the economic injustice currently being done to our nation’s senior citizens. In it he observes that the mantra being repeated in the media to keep everyone from jumping off a cliff is to “wait out the storm”. We are reminded of the conventional wisdom that economic busts and booms are cyclical, but that in the long term the stock market will steadily increase in value and after a few years…
Cost of Care, Elder CareSeniors’ Equity Crushed by Housing Market Crisis
That recent headline by MSN Money.com sure is an attention grabber. But the cold hard facts of this economic crisis and its impact on seniors should be grabbing everyone’s attention. The equity in the vast majority of people’s homes is their single greatest source of net worth. The unprecedented slide in the real estate market is a huge hit for just about everyone. Recent statistics show that in less than a year the total amount of home equity in American’s homes that has vanished rose…
Cost of Care, Economic CrisisMedicaid to Start Charging Premiums and Increasing Co-Pays
In response to the economic slump, growth of the Baby Boom population and pressure on state budgets, the federal government will allow states to begin charging premiums and increasing co-pays for those on Medicaid. This is another warning sign to seniors and their families that they need to be preparing to take on more and more of the financial burden to cover the costs of senior housing and long term care. As the increasing population of Baby Boomers and seniors hits in concert with a…
Cost of Care, MedicaidSeniors Face Retirement Funding Crisis
The impact of this economy on seniors and their families has been particularly difficult. Housing values are down significantly and the time it takes to sell a home is now measured in months instead of weeks. Income from retirement accounts and investments have been reduced in many cases by half or more due to the volatile stock market. For those now facing decisions about retirement and possible moves into senior housing, assisted living and long term care the impact of the economic crisis has been…
Cost of Care, Retirement Funding