In October, home health agencies in Miami will be welcoming the return of Long Term Care Planning Month and Best Care is no exception. For us, it is an extraordinary important time of year because we see the ramifications of Floridians’ long term care planning, or lack thereof, every day. So in today’s post, we wanted to touch upon a few things families may have not previously considered:

First, it is never too early to begin long term planning but it can be too late. As of the government’s latest posting, the annual cost of living in a Florida nursing home was somewhere between $74,000 and $103,000 per person. Hiring a person to provide homemaker services typically ran Floridians anywhere from $41,000 to $44,000 and the cost of home health aide services fell in the same ballpark. Now here’s the kicker that many families don’t realize; Medicare and Medicaid won’t foot the entire bill.

This is especially the case if a person is receiving what’s known as custodial care. Assistance with daily living activities is included under the custodial care sub-header. So that means if a Floridian needs help toileting or bathing, neither Medicare nor Medicaid will likely cover the costs. So who picks up the difference? It all depends on how well a person planned for his or her long term care needs.

In some instances, the ill individual and his or her family may need to come up with the balance due. In other scenarios, there may be long term care insurance, disability payments, veteran’s benefits, charitable organizations or pensions that may help cover some of the costs. Our home health agency staff in Miami is fully aware of those options and is willing to answer questions about them for families living in Broward, Palm Beach and Dade Counties.

Of course there is more to long term care planning than just finances. It is vital for Floridians to communicate their healthcare wishes to others too. Such tasks are normally handled through the creation of a series of advance directives, including powers of attorney. To learn more about long term care planning this month or in those that follow, please contact our home health agency in Miami.