Wise Living Health Care Options

In 1993, Assisted Living facilities became regulated like nursing homes, requiring that virtually all procedures, including the most elemental, be delivered by a licensed professional.

In 1996, the financial regulations of the Healthcare Reform Act changed the ways healthcare services are compensated. Hospital stays became severely brief, physicians no longer drew blood and ophthalmologists left eye tests to technicians. More damagingly, Assisted Living medical reimbursement became much more challenging.

One major northeast operator of over 40 senior communities estimates that more than 90% of the patients in its Assisted Living wards are paying privately – at cost between $5,000 and $11,000 a month.

Now, thanks to the astonishing availability of mobile treatments, healthcare is moving swiftly back into the home, including end-of-life hospice care.

There was a time within the memories of most seniors when doctors visited their patients. As medicine offered more complex procedures, patient care moved to hospitals and specialized clinics. Now, thanks to the astonishing availability of mobile treatments, healthcare is swiftly returning to the home, including end-of-life hospice care. The critical benefit is that most in-home care is covered by insurance, including Medicare. Medicare augmented by the Advantage overlay can provide seniors with a solid insurance base to which specialized policies can be added as advisable.
Here’s what the United States government says www.medicare.gov:
“Home healthcare is less expensive, more convenient and just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.”

Note that this comparison is to “hospital and skilled nursing facility” - institutions offering services far more sophisticated than those found in Assisted Living. The Congressional Budget Office also weighed in on the subject stating that nearly half of the elderly in nursing homes could be cared for in their homes.

There are many effective insurance plans, and all seniors should carefully deliberate the wisest option for a secure and satisfying life.

Reliance builds resentment and resentment builds distance at a time when closeness is cherished by both generations.

Generations bound together by love also become united by needs, emotional and financial, both. For children of elders, nothing is more dreaded than the unanswered telephone, and the obligatory question, “Must I go there now to be sure things are all right?” These daily dramas are no less uncomfortable for seniors who treasure their independence and allow resentment build distance at a time when closeness is cherished by both generations.

Intended or otherwise, generational finances easily and inevitably become intertwined and there is no greater burden than the feeling of being a burden. Wrong decisions on healthcare can quickly deplete savings and equity, forcing elder generational support that erodes second generation resources. Both generations have an obligation to head off this damaging cycle.

Today, one out of four lives alone, a situation seniors often find lonely and depressing. A sudden disability, restricted mobility or lack of companionship can lead to a loss of the independence seniors cherish. Yet, the reality is that most seniors need only a little assistance most of the time. What they need all the time is the stimulation of a vital community of active colleagues pursuing enjoyable interests – and the security of knowing trained help is available when it is required, sometime immediately.

Wise Living’s healthcare approach is to empower members to manage their care with in-home services delivered through their own qualified medical practitioners. When the life-sustaining advantages of a vibrant community are backstopped by efficient medical care and on-site help, life becomes very, very good.