Help With Homecare Costs

Paying for homecare for our family members is not always an easy task. Since medical insurance and Medicare do not pay for non-medical in-home care, recipients of care are in a "private pay" situation. Our family is doing this, right now, in fact.

When the economy dips and people's income is impacted, it gets harder. We even had a client or two have to stop receiving professional care when a family member is laid off and returns home. They know, and we do, that the level of care -- not love, but care -- is going to be reduced, but reality is reality.

To try to help with this issue of affordability of homecare, we've posted some information and documents on our Web site, concerning two major sources of financial support -- Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) and Veteran's Aid and Attendance benefits.

If either the client or the spouse is a veteran, it is important to check out Aid and Attendance, from the VA. There are income and asset criteria, but there are good sources of help to determine eligibility (again, you can check our Web site).

Long-Term Care Insurance is something that most people are just learning about. We think it is a critical piece of planning for the future. We purchased LTCI for ourselves -- and no, we don't sell it :-). There are good sources of information (there is an AARP link in the page on our site) and a number of good companies. Like all insurance, you have to buy it before you need it.

The bottom line, whether a family turns to VA Aid and Attendance or LTCI or other forms of budgeting for future care needs, making a plan is critical -- as earlier as families can do so. Good luck from Support For Home. Bert and Siew Pheng

Emergency Alert System - Don't Be Home Without It

One of the simplest things that we can all do, to protect ourselves at home -- especially if we live alone, is to wear a bracelet or necklace with a button we can push if we fall or have some other medical emergency. There are many such personal alarm products / services on the market, just as there are many alarm systems for our houses.

For our own clients, believe in this service so strongly that, if we provide at least 20 hours of care per week, we actually pay for the installation and monthly fee for the personal alarm. When we are not with our clients, we want to know -- and their families to know -- that help is a simple button push away. If anything happens, after emergency services are notified, so are we. We can then provide fast help, ourselves.

You can find a link to a company we work with on our Useful Resources page, on our Web site. In addition to the alarm bracelet or pendant, most companies have a lockbox service, where you can put a key to the home. Emergency services gets the lockbox code from the alarm company, so nobody has to break down a door! :-)

If you have any questions about these services or other areas of living at home as a senior, give us a call (916) 482-8484 or send an email to info@supportforhome.com.