Nebraska’s Long Term Care Offerings

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services more than 60% of elderly folks in Nebraska who are aged 65 and older will require care anytime in the future. It takes a good plan for one to be able to afford Nebraska long term care, otherwise one can risk losing all of his assets to nursing home expenses or in-home care services.

At present, Nebraskans who are receiving care in a nursing home pay out $68,557 every year on the average. Professional nurses say the average length of stay of an elderly in a nursing home is three years so if this is the case, one should have at least $206,000 to afford a three-year stay in a nursing home that is situated in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, nursing homes in certain regions of Nebraska have higher rates. For instance, those in Lincoln charge $73,139 annually for a private room so a three-year stay in a nursing home in this city will be tantamount to $220,000.

In Omaha, the rate of a nursing home is more prohibitive at $78,500 per annum. To be able to self-insure you’ll need at least $2,000,000 in assets especially if you’ll be requiring care 20 years down the road as the cost of care is predicted to quadruple by that time.

Simply put, a nursing home’s annual rate of $78,500 could be a whopping $314,000 by the time we reach 2030. Even in-home care will increase significantly so from $85,000 its annual rate, which is inclusive of home health aide and homemaker services, it is expected to go up to $253,968.

Meanwhile, assisted living facilities in Nebraska have a median annual rate of $34,000 but like other LTC settings these, too, shall increase approximately to $102,000.

Preparing for Nebraska Long Term Care

Although the Nebraska Long Term Care Ombudsman Program is constantly after the welfare of residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, it does not shoulder the duty of covering anybody’s LTC expenses.

For one to be able to afford quality care whether in a nursing home, community-based LTC facility or at home, he has to plan his future health care needs meticulously.

You have to first identify your needs and this is only possible by looking up your family’s health history and having your present health condition checked by a licensed physician. Your doctor can help you correlate these pieces of information and tell you how these can affect your future health.

For instance, if your family history reveals that you are susceptible to Alzheimer’s you have to consider an LTC facility which specializes on this type of disease. You also have to weigh your finances since you’ll need a lot of money for this type of sickness.

If you have a significant amount of assets you’ll be better off with a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy as the cost of care in Nebraska and elsewhere for that matter is not stable.

You might think that the present cost of Nebraska long term care is tolerable since you’re currently bringing in a sizable paycheck but if you’re contemplating requiring care in 20 or 30 years, you should be aiming for higher LTC rates because those that you see today are going obsolete soon.