When you’re helping care for a loved one, the best thing you can do is help them stay at home. Studies have found that people who are getting support in their homes are generally happier and healthier than if they were moved into an assisted living facility. This means you will want to find a plan that will cover most of your loved one’s needs right at home. Luckily, there are many plans out there that will cover everything from nursing visits to medical equipment. So it’s possible to keep a loved one happily and healthily at home with the right Medicare Advantage plan.
Home Care Is the Best Option
Home care is the best option for many people. It can range from a few hours per week to around-the-clock care, depending on the patient’s needs and their family’s situation.
Home health care services are provided by an agency or a private nurse in your own home. The person providing home health care may be a professional nurse with experience caring for seniors or others who need special attention and help. Or with daily activities (such as eating and bathing), it could be someone who is part of your family—a spouse, adult child, grandchild, or sibling.
What Will You Need to Help Manage At Home?
The first step in finding the right home health care plan for your loved one is identifying their needs. If the patient’s recovery journey involves physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, or medication management, you will want to consider a plan for those services. While many different plans are available, it’s good to look for one that offers multiple levels of care. So that if your loved one needs additional help as they progress through their recovery process, it can be provided without having to find new providers and start over again.
What Will You Need Long-Term?
Long-term care is expensive, and long-term care insurance is even more so. The average cost of a nursing home stay in the United States is $90,000 per year; assisted living facilities can cost as much as $4,000 per month. These are staggering figures for anyone to stomach, but they’re especially difficult for families who have already been providing care for their loved ones on top of their regular expenses.
Long-term care insurance can seem like a good way to help protect against this expense—but it’s not always worth it. For one thing, these policies often require a steep upfront payment that may not be affordable without taking out loans or draining other savings accounts (and this doesn’t even consider the ongoing premiums).
Which Medicare Advantage Plan Is Best?
Medicare Advantage plans are managed care insurance plans offered by private insurers. Which contract with the government to provide all Medicare benefits. Since Medicare Advantage plans offer a range of health and financial benefits, it’s important to understand how each plan works before choosing one for your loved one.
Some of the things to consider include:
- Benefits: What does this plan cover? How much will my loved one pay for services? Will my loved one receive any out-of-pocket expenses? Is there anything you need to know about specific services or treatments that may be excluded from the coverage provided by this plan?
- Cost structure: What is the monthly premium amount charged by this insurance company? Are there other fees associated with using this insurance provider? Are there any fees associated with switching between different types of coverage within a given year (such as switching between fee-for-service and managed care)
How Do You Get Started with a Medicare Advantage Plan?
To get started, contact a licensed insurance agent. They will be able to help you answer these questions and more. Agents are paid by companies that sell Medicare advantage in Nebraska, so their advice is completely unbiased and free of charge to you. The agent will ask for information about you, your loved one, the home health care services they need, and other medical costs. So they can give a quote on how much it would cost your loved one to join your plan.
Conclusion
The right Medicare Advantage plan can keep your loved one at home and healthy. If you’re looking for more flexibility and options for your loved one’s care, a Medicare Advantage plan can help. Plus, these plans may be able to save you money by combining Medicare benefits with extra services. This guide should give you a better idea of what your loved ones will need now and in the future.
Author’s Bio:
McKenzie Jones is your typical Midwestern gal. When she is not writing or reading, she can be found training for her next half-marathon, baking something sweet, playing her guitar, or cuddling up with her golden retriever, Cooper. She loves watching football, fall weather, and long road trips. To get started, contact a licensed insurance agent. They will be able to help you answer these questions and more. Agents are paid by companies that sell Medicare advantage in Nebraska, so their advice is completely unbiased and free of charge to you.
