Tips to Help Seniors Afford Assisted Living

As if arranging for assisted living isn’t challenging enough, navigating the options and finding ways to afford it can be even more challenging and emotionally taxing. It can become all the more difficult if the senior needing care requires specialized nursing, memory care, or other assisted living support.

At Adult Care Advisors, we recommend that you stay ahead of the curve with careful planning and doing the research necessary before the situation becomes dire. We can offer plenty of useful strategies to help you fit quality senior care into the budget.

Tips for Affording Assisted Living

1. Ask about promotions. Sometimes an assisted living facility will offer seasonal or occasional promotions that may help your loved one get into the right facility at a reduced price.
2. Consider a location that is more affordable than others. As with other types of housing, the cost varies from location to location. After your initial search, be flexible enough to look at different locations that may be more affordable.
3. Ask about price flexibility. While the official cost of the assisted living unit is in print, that doesn’t always mean it is set in stone. Ask about move-in incentives or whether the facility is willing to negotiate on the monthly price.
4. Compare the price options. Often assisted living facilities offer an ‘a la carte’ type menu which means you can pick and choose the services your senior needs and avoid paying for the ones you don’t want. 
5. Consider whether your loved one would be interested in sharing a room, an option that is more cost-effective than a single room or apartment. This arrangement is very useful for keeping two old friends together or for helping battle loneliness.
6. Check the veteran’s benefits. If your senior or their spouse served in the armed forces, they may be eligible for benefits through the Department of Veteran Affairs. Those benefits may offset the cost of their senior care.
7. Get personalized advice. Making the final decision about elder care can be hard and having a knowledgeable advisor can make all the difference in the world. Simply having the right advice about different options is often the key to pointing out which option is right for your senior.

If time is of the essence, you may have to consider an arrangement that includes the agreement to move when a more affordable unit is available. It is for this reason that we recommend doing early research.

At Adult Care Advisors, we can help families learn about the senior care options available so you can care for your loved ones in the best way possible.

Get in touch with our team of senior care experts for the advice and support you need to decide how you will afford assisted living when the time comes.