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How Much Do Elder Care Services Cost?

The expenses associated with elder care often warrant advance planning. Your current finances, as well as other anticipated expenditures, should be taken into consideration when budgeting for future elder care services. For example, if you were to have a home health aide visit your elderly family member’s home to provide services only three times per week, the cost could easily be close to $18,000, even more in some areas. Now that you see the costs associated with elder care services, it is important that you have an understanding of what contracting a elder care service entails and how doing so can affect your personal finances.

Determine Your Elder Care Needs

Before you start interviewing companies that offer elder care services, it is important that you have an idea of what to expect from them. Since the cost of elder care services are determined on an hourly basis, you should at least have an estimate as to how many hours of elder care services your loved one will need per week. Of course, these hours can always be adjusted as the need for care changes, but having a rough estimate will help you better budget for the care. The elderly care products required to care for a patient can also affect the cost of services.

Pricing is Location-Based

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined that the average cost of elder care services is $29/hour. The cost will vary by where each care recipient resides and by the type of care that is needed. To give you an example, someone residing in Florida may only have to pay $20.00 per hour for their elder care services, but someone living in Washington could pay $45.00 per hour for the same elder care services.

Paying for Elder Care Services

Keep in mind that insurance can get tricky when it comes to payment for elder care services. Most private insurance will not pay for in home care; however, some may. Medicare will not cover elder care services, but Medicaid will if the care recipient meets eligibility and other requirements. Long-term care insurance policies exist to help pay for elder care services and other elderly care costs that private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid may not cover, but the premiums for this type of policy can get quite expensive, especially if the policy is purchased around retirement age. Also, there are contingencies associated with some long-term care insurance policies, so it pays to have a clear understanding in advance as to what your elder care service policy will cover and what it will not. Now that you know your options, it is important to remain mindful of your financial situation when choosing elder care services.