Ruth is the mother of four middle-aged children, Judy is her only daughter. Ruth lost her husband at 75 years old, she was able to remain in the family home in close proximity to friends, neighbors, and family. She enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow and she had little concern about finances thanks to her husband’s generous pension plan and his decent social security benefits. Today, Ruth is 86 years old. Her vision is impaired and recently she had to give up her driver's license, she is also unsteady on her feet. About six months ago Ruth fell and broke her hip. She recovered in a rehabilitation facility and returned home with just a few weeks of nursing services before she was on her own. Although Ruth was visited frequently by family and friends, she lived alone at home. Judy stepped in as much as possible cooking, cleaning and running errands. She also managed much of Ruth’s finances. Despite running her own household of three, and maintaining a full-time job, Judy kept it all together. Her kids called her “Super Mom”.
About 6 months after hip surgery, Ruth fell again and was rushed to the hospital. The case management team told Judy that her mom could no longer safely live alone at home and encouraged Judy to seek full-time care for her mother. Ruth did not have enough funds to pay for full-time care. Judy was exhausted, she knew her mom had a long term care policy, but she was not able to access the benefits right away. Judy gave us a call. At first, we determined what would be covered by Medicare, then we projected out-of-pocket costs and related expenses. Next, we reviewed the long term care policy’s elimination period and necessary requirements Ruth had to meet to activate coverage. Using Ruth's income sources, we created a financial plan that worked! During the elimination period, we helped Judy find licensed professionals to assist with her mom’s care at home. We had a discussion about the importance of physician statements, and medically necessary durable medical equipment that would be paramount for Ruth to remain safe at home. And we provided Judy with a plan to get her mom's care covered.
Our analysis of the costs to keep Ruth home prior to her acceptance into the nursing home was pretty much spot-on. Judy was relieved to have the help and knowledge that there was enough money and coverage for her mom’s elder care needs.
