Protect Yourself from Arizona’s Cost of Care

Arizona long term care costs are increasing at a rate faster than the national average. This is the reason that residents of the state are advised to start planning their future health care needs before an event snowballs into irreparable damages in the health and financial aspects of their lives.

Arizona residents with loved ones in nursing homes are currently forking out $79,113 a year, on average, for a private room. According to nursing home personnel, the average length of stay of elderly people in their facility is two and a half years or three years, but with less than $300,000 in assets these people can only manage to keep their elderly or disabled loved ones in there for a year.

Nursing home expenses can dwindle down people’s assets faster than any other expenditures, especially for those living in the Phoenix area where the average daily cost of a nursing home is $222 or $82,490 annually.

Meanwhile, the cost of assisted living centers in Lake Havasu is 15% higher than in Phoenix. According to Genworth Financial’s 2011 Cost of Care Survey, the average annual rate of a one-bedroom private assisted living facility in the former city is $42,000 or $3,500 per month. In Phoenix, the same type of LTC facility would cost $3,000 monthly.

That said, you should start planning your LTC in Arizona early and if you don’t know where to begin, perhaps scouting various LTC settings in your area will serve as an effective means. Since your plan is meant to shield you from the high cost of care, it’s a good idea to gather the figures or rates of each type of LTC facility so that you would know how much coverage you will need from a potential LTCI policy.

Facing Arizona Long Term Care Costs Head-on

Nobody goes to war unarmed. With this in mind, there is no doubt that you will be able to construct a viable plan for your health care needs.

After you have gathered the rates of various LTCI facilities in your area, compare them and estimate how long you’ll need care in each facility assuming that you would someday.

Planning is all about anticipation, after all, and it’s natural to perceive the worse that could happen in the future rather than be too complacent only to find yourself in the financial pit afterwards.

Oftentimes, at the onset of care majority of patients would stay home, hire a home health aide and avail homemaker services. This is usually the case for those who are experiencing functional limitations due to a disability or infirmity resulting from old age.

Later, as the patient’s health condition worsens he is brought to a nursing home which provides 24-hour care and monitoring, therapy sessions, and other services that would relieve him from pain and ensure his comfort despite his condition.

Right now, a big number of families face the risk of losing all of their assets to Arizona long term care costs. Count your family out of the equation and start planning.