Caregiving Information

Caregiving

Eileen Dunn, MS, CMC, CLTC, Geriatric Care Manager

Quoted in Market Watch (Division of WSJ)
National Speaker at Industry Conferences & Share Holder Meetings
Author of the very popular Care Manager’s Corner
A frequent guest on radio & TV, as an Industry expert

Our Policy Holders are invited to join us for monthly webinars hosted by our very own Geriatric Care Manager. Learn about Industry changes, updates, ask questions, on the spot! We’ll discuss your concerns.

ACCESS CARE MANAGER'S CORNER

Click the link above to access Care Manager's Corner, providing a number of helpful articles from Eileen Dunn, MS, CMC, CLTC, Geriatric Care Manager

Elderly man sitting on a bench with his daughter.

Taking care of loved ones

Simple but not easy

They are simple tasks. Most of us do them without giving them a lot of thought. But at a certain point, many of us can no longer handle them easily.
Custodial care offers one-on-one help doing all the routine things most of us take for granted, such as getting in and out of a chair or bed.

Clearing up misconceptions

About 34.2 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult 50 or older in the previous 12 months. [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, Caring in the US, 2015]. The economic value of the care provided by unpaid (family, partners, friends) only for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias was $217 Billion in 2014. [Family Caregiver Alliance and AARP, 2016]. A study done by LifePlans, Inc. for AHIP in Nov. 2014 found the following: Individuals receiving care under LTC insurance policies receive 35% more hours of care than those without LTC insurance. 71% of insured claimants said that they would have had to reduce the amount of care they received, had they not had LTC insurance.

Which type of caregiving will work best for you?

There are several different types of care that could come into play:

Home care
Care in a facility
Care from professionals
Care from relatives
Care from friends

If you want or need any of these types of care, long-term care insurance may help cover the cost. Everybody has different preferences. AoCP can help you tailor a long-term care insurance policy to suit your personal situation.

How do you envision your future?

Before you need long-term care, ask yourself:

Would I prefer to move into a residential facility?
Would I rather get care at home?
Which person or people do I want to provide my long-term care if I need it?
Will they want to give care?
Will they be able to provide care?
If a friend or family member devotes time to my care, could there be a negative impact on that person’s career, earnings or financial well-being?
Could their relationships with their children and spouses become stressed?

It may be a big relief to put a plan into action now that will help you and your loved ones cope later on in the event that you require long-term care.

The cost of long-term care

Long-term care costs thousands of dollars each month and prices are expected to escalate over time.
In 2012, average national long-term care costs ranged from about $40,000 for a single bedroom in an assisted living facility to about $80,000 for a private room in a nursing home.
In ten years, these costs were expected to increase to roughly $60,000 and $125,000, respectively.
In 20 years, costs were projected to rise to approximately $90,000 and $180,000 and in 30 years, to an estimated $130,000 and $270,000.