Lake Mary Nursing Home Planning Attorney
Nobody wants to plan for illness and disability in old age, yet many older adults require long-term care due to an injury or a disease that results in a significant disability. According to AARP, approximately 52 percent of all older adults aged 65 and up will need long-term care for an average of two years. If you have not sufficiently planned ahead financially, the costs of long-term care can be enormous and devastating. To be sure, for many older adults in Florida, the costs of long-term care are significantly higher than the salaries they earned prior to retirement.
According to the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA), the median annual cost for nursing home care in a private room is more than $100,000, and the median annual cost for nursing home care in a semi-private room is nearly $90,000. Even the costs of care in an assisted-living facility are high, with a median annual cost of approximately $48,000 in Florida. To pay for long-term care costs, older adults in Florida will need to work with an experienced Lake Mary nursing home planning attorney.
Long-Term Care Insurance in Lake Mary
One option for nursing home planning is long-term care insurance. There are many different options for long-term care insurance, and different insurance companies offer this option. It is extremely important to work with a Florida nursing home planning attorney who has familiarity with different policy options and can help you to understand the terms of the policy, the benefits, and the exclusions. Some types of long-term care insurance policies will only provide coverage for nursing home care, while others will provide coverage for both nursing home care and in-home long-term health care. In addition, some long-term care insurance policies offer coverage for assisted-living facilities and other care options.
Since long-term care insurance policies can vary widely and most people paying for these policies do not have previous experience with or knowledge of long-term care insurance, it is important to speak with a lawyer who can provide you with more information. An insurance company, even when you pay for a policy, is not an advocate for you. However, a nursing home planning lawyer in Lake Mary is an advocate who can work to ensure that your needs are met.
Medicaid Planning
For many people, nursing home planning means Medicaid planning. As you may know, Medicaid is a federal government health program for low-income people, and low-income seniors can be eligible to obtain nursing home coverage through Medicaid. However, to be eligible for nursing home coverage, it is necessary to have income and assets that are low enough to qualify for benefits. A nursing home planning lawyer can speak with you about how to plan for Medicaid eligibility without facing significant monetary penalties.
Contact a Nursing Home Planning Attorney in Lake Mary
Nursing home planning can be a complicated process, from considering long-term care insurance policies and other types of benefits to Medicaid planning. One of our experienced Lake Mary nursing home planning attorneys can begin working with you today to plan for the future. Contact the Law Offices of Shea A. Fugate, P.A. to learn more about how we can help.