Long-Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It

Informative

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars if I could. It had some good parts but there seemed like there were too many chapters that could have been easily shortened.

Would recommend to a friend.

“To find out what ADLs are covered in a CCRC, you might check with your state AAA.” If this sentence is incomprehensible to you, you are not alone! In today’s world where people are living longer, many new resources for the aging are available . NOLO’s Long-Term Care is a useful guide to help seniors and their families find the right resources so that they can enjoy that longer life to the fullest.A big strength of this book is its recognition that this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Seniors vary in physical and cognitive condition, financial situation, family and social relationships, geographical region, and, also important, personality characteristics. These are all significant factors. For example, it mentions that different facilities often have different rules that control residents' actions and lives. Some of these may be just what the residents needs or, conversely, too much for their personality to bear. As a result, author Joseph Matthews does not provide answers but rather a comprehensive list of questions to ask, factors to consider, and places to look for answers. There are links to web resources and to the NOLO website, which provides updates when significant information changes. AND there are definitions of the many terms and acronyms involved in long-term care.There are specific discussions of the types of living arrangements, ranging from in-home help at various levels through independent senior residences, assisted living, and nursing homes. In addition to factors to consider, there is information about certifying agencies that could help you decide among various facilities. There was no discussion, though, of differences among the various types of in-home help, such as Certified Nursing Assistants, Nursing Assistants, Medical Assistants, Licenses Practical Nurses, and others; this would be very helpful. There are separate chapters on two of the most challenging situations: Alzheimer’s care and hospice. These chapters provide a very thorough presentation of the things you need to consider. For example, I was pleased to see a discussion of what you can do if you are not happy with a hospice facility you have chosen.After you decide what level of care is best, the next question is how to pay for it. Again, thus book does not give you the answer, but it gives tools to help you make the best decision. For example, many people do not realize that Medicare pays for long-term care only in very limited circumstances or that it does pay for some in-home care. There are chapters on benefts for veterans and Medicaid coverage for long-term care and how to find out if you qualify. Another chapter describes the “Myths and Realities of LTCI” (long-term care insurance to the civilians among us!).A final “bonus” chapter discusses elder fraud and should be required reading for older people and their families. It discusses who commits elder fraud, what kinds of fraud commonly target senior citizens, and where to go for help if you are a victim. One source of help it does not mention, however, is your local police department, many of which have senior liaison officers who are knowledgeable and skilled at dealing with older citizens.No book is going to make navigating the world of long-term care simple, but the information in NOLO’s Long-Term Care should will give you confidence and skills to make better choices for yourself or your elderly relatives in their later years.

This book is packed full of excellent, easy to understand information concerning long-term care. Whether you're in the planning stages, or beginning to make arrangements or now receiving long term health care, this book can help you make wise decisions. And, NOLO's website will post current legal updates to this book! Their website also provides a Social Security & Retirement Center where you'll find more help from experts, hundreds of articles and FAQs, useful legal forms and in-depth profiles of attorneys in your area.This book will help you....Explore options for home care, assisted living and nursing homeGet the most out of Medicaid, Medicare & Veteran's programsMake an informed decision about whether to purchase long-term care insuranceConsider special needs of those with dementia or Alzheimer'sLearn how to protect against elder fraudFor the past few years, we've planned on contacting an attorney who specializes in Senior citizens to learn how best to prepare for our future - in particular, how we need to prepare if either or us needs long term care. This book answers all of our questions...It even explains the pros & cons of purchasing long term care insurance. We put it off because we never quite understood it enough to know if we would be wasting our money. The information provided in this book helped me realize that, for us, not purchasing long term care insurance was the right decision.The section "Strategies to Protect Your Assests" was extremely informative & helpful too.I'll say it again...This book is an excellent, informative, easy-to-understand resource for those who need to understand Long-Term Care and all its options. I also appreciate the fact that NOLO keeps their website up-to-date with current & legal updates to this book.