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rainyday Asked December 2012

Can you buy long term care insurance to pay for a nursing home or assisted living?

My mom is 87 and needs this service.

igloo572 Jan 2013
Not likely @ 87. What she needs to consider is coming up with a plan to spend down her assets so that she can qualify for Medicaid for NH and before that get on a waiver program for AL (if your state diverts Medicaid $$ to AL). Perhaps selling assets now while there is not a crisis looming over the decision making. If mom has real estate, this is especially true in the current real estate markets. In alot of ways the spend-down is great family project in that it is a reality check for all of us as we all will be elderly. A good elder care attorney will be invaluable to you and her. 87 would mean 92 for outside the 5 year lookback for Medicaid. So sooner is better than later for you all. Good luck.

OmgWhatNow Dec 2012
I'm not so sure. I know that my grandmother once bought care for in-home nurses a looooooong time ago. Because of this, I haven't had to look into the process of getting it for somebody. This also goes for nursing homes & such.

It might be difficult to get it for her because of her age, but if her health is still "somewhat" okay, you may be able to find an insurance company willing to help.

Alternatively, you can look into subsidized assisted living if money is an issue..

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Yogibear Dec 2012
Check around but at that age either you can't get it due to health issues or the premiums would be sky high.

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