Long Term Care Government Aid

Medicare
Many people believe that Medicare will pay for long stays in a nursing home, but Medicare Long Term Care benefits are extremely limited. The Federal Medicare program and private "Medigap" (Medicare supplemental) insurance programs will only pay for a short stay (max. 100 days) for rehabilitation purposes in a skilled nursing facility. In addition, you must have a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days and enter the nursing home within 30 days of that hospital discharge. Medicare covers limited home visits for skilled care.

Medicaid
Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) is a government program to provide health care to the destitute. It may be possible to obtain Medicaid assistance to cover your long term care costs if you meet your state's poverty criteria and receive care that meets the state's Medicaid guidelines. Medicaid recipients are usually limited to those with less than $2,000 in assets & savings (except for, perhaps, your house and car). Medicaid is restricted to a limited number of state-approved caregivers (mostly institutions like nursing homes) that are willing to accept Medicaid’s payments.

Community Care
More and more states and counties are helping to fund community options for Long Term Care. Most areas now have services specifically designed for persons with Alzheimer's, Stroke, Parkinson's and other chronic health conditions. These options can range from informal care provided by volunteer and religious organizations to hospice care. Other community care services may include: legal and financial counseling, transportation, adult day care, and nutritional services. Usually these services are provided at little or no cost.

Because community care options vary significantly over the country, a good place to start is the Eldercare Locator, a service of the US Administration of Aging, which is designed to assist seniors and their families find community services available to them in their area. The Eldercare Locator phone number is (800) 677-1116.

Once you have determined your needs and identified the types of resources available in your community, you can begin contacting community care organizations. Be prepared – this can be a confusing & time-consuming process, but ultimately very worthwhile. Some other common organizations that can be of help are listed to the left in the "Resources" box.