Most residents of assisted living facilities are private pay, as neither Medicare nor Medicaid covers the costs. People usually pay expenses out-of-pocket from pensions, retirement savings and/or investment accounts. Social Security benefits, the sale of real estate, or financial help from family members are other means used to help pay the cost. Because residential assisted living care can be expensive over time, these resources eventually may be exhausted, in which case there are other options available to help pay the monthly fees.
Instructions
1. Purchase long-term care insurance (see Resources below). Policies offer a wide variety of options to consumers. Ab important factor to keep mind is that the older individuals are when they first purchase a long-term care insurance policy from an insurer, the higher the premiums will be. Policies often will pay only a predetermined amount for a specified period of time.
2. Apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) if you are older than age 65, blind or disabled and have limited income and assets (see Resources). If eligible to receive these benefits funded by federal and state governments, some assisted living facilities will accept a portion of the person's monthly benefit as payment. However, the facility may not charge more for room and board than the amount set by the state. By law a resident is allowed to keep a small portion of the monthly SSI benefit to cover personal expenses.
