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Any suggestions about Assisted Living Association?
QUESTION: What would you do in this situation?
Several years ago, my divorced mother became disabled. She quickly ran
through all of her savings while she was living and coping with trying
to find out what was wrong. She owned most of her home, but had to put
out a second mortgage to prevent a foreclosure, and continue to live
while she was unable to work. Eventually, her disability payments from
the government kicked in and she was able to barely scrape by, only
with family assistance. Now her disability has worsened.
She and the family have started to have conversations about what the
next step should be. It is looking like a transitional care living
situation would be beneficial, as she is currently living in a two
story house, and it is difficult and unsafe for her to go up and down
the stairs. She requires a nursing assistant currently, and part-time
medical care is going to need to be part of the solution. However, she
is able to get around enough that she does not need a full nursing
home level of care. I have seen a Lutheran home in a nearby rural
community that has appears to have units for assisted care. It would
seem to be perfect; a one floor apartment that is on the ground floor.
That would mean no more climbing up stairs, which is unsafe for her.
The community is Lutheran, which would benefit my mom, as that is her
faith, and would be a good community for her to live in. It is on the
same grounds as a nursing home, which would make sense for when the
time comes to transition to a higher level of care. It would seem to
me that in the assisted care apartment dwellings, there would be
someone that could check in on her every so often, but not a nursing
home level of care, which at this point would be intrusive and
unnecessary. There may be more activities and options for stimulation
available there, as opposed to living at home alone. At the Lutheran
home I have seen vans go in and out full of residents on their way to
and from church, and other activities. I have looked online for this
home, and they are not online, but similar Lutheran homes seem to have
a lot of activities available.
But the question is, how does someone pay for all of this? After
looking at some of the numbers of her assets I am
shocked as to what little is left. It is a complete shame, as she had
worked and saved since we kids were old enough, had enough to get her
though her divorce, put a nice down payment down on home. She had
enough savings to get through several years of disability, always with
the hope of some recovery, but now it has gone from bad to worse. In
addition, the properties in her townhouse community have actually
substantially lost value. I did not think that this was possible, but
I have checked in the area, and due to many years of mismanagement by
the condo association, the condo fee is enormous, and so no one wants
to buy these places and so the values have plummeted. So by my
estimates from other property sales in her development, we may have
$20,000 plus her meager $500 monthly allotment for disability, which
may increase to $700 a month within a year, from what she describes.
She has been active in the Lutheran Church for all of her life. Is
there any possibility of the church providing assistance in situations
like this? Is there anyplace else other than disability, like
Medicare? I would love to have some idea before I contact one of them.
So I am in ultra-panic mode here. I need some help. Any suggestions?
ANSWER: Medicare does not pay for any kind of long-term care. It is possible
that Medicaid may pay for assisted living in your state, once your
mother's assets have been exhausted. It's very unlikely that the church
would help pay for your mom's care--churches would be bankrupt if they
did this. A good person to contact would be the intake/admissions
person at the Lutheran community you're considering.
Best wishes--we just had to admit my dad to a nursing home under
Medicaid, and it truly sucks.
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