Long Term Care Planning in Washington Begins Today

Are you wondering who can afford Washington long term care costs? The answer is only a handful and they are either the richest of the rich or the poorest of poor.

If your annual income is nowhere near a million dollars but you can afford to buy some of your whims because it is above the poverty line, then you should be watching your assets closely lest the cost of care takes it away in just a blink of an eye.

In some U.S. states long term care (LTC) costs have increased about 3% to 5% but Washington was hit by a 10% increase. From $4,000, the average monthly rate of an assisted living facility now ranges from $4,600 to $5,700. Meanwhile, a private room in a nursing home costs $253 a day on average.

Most Washingtonians prefer to receive care at home thinking this will not only keep them close to their family, it will also cost them less. Unfortunately, they will be getting the exact opposite as in-home care services in this state are very expensive.

Home health aides charge $28 per hour and the scope of their work is limited to providing the recipient of care assistance with his activities of daily living (ADL) namely eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring. Should the individual receiving care require help with his household chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry washing, and the like he shall be required to pay additional $25 for a personal care assistant whose job is to perform homemaker services only.

Washington’s LTC cost may seem too high for comfort but in reality, Washingtonians are yet to experience the cost of care at its peak 18 years down the road. When that time comes, a day’s stay in a nursing home will cost $1,012, a month in an assisted living facility will be equivalent to $22,800 while an hour of assistance from a home health aide will cost $112.

Dealing with Washington Long Term Care Costs

In order to avoid putting yourself and your family in a bad financial situation you need to plan your LTC needs today. Planning normally begins with inquiries so check out LTC facilities that are near your place and find out how much they cost.

After having familiarized yourself with the average cost of care in your area, see your doctor to find out the present state of your health. Ask about your chances of acquiring a chronic illness which may result in permanent disability.

Knowing what you could possibly need in the future health care-wise can increase your likelihood of securing a good plan that will cover a portion or all of your LTC expenses. It is necessary to study the various platforms for LTC planning because not every one of these will work for you.

For example, if you are nowhere near the retirement age you can perhaps consider a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy but if you are 70 years old and at risk of paying a high LTCI premium you can look into reverse mortgages

To gather more ideas on how you can beat Washington long term care costs you can consult a financial adviser, an LTCI company or an elder care specialist.