Reverse Mortgages in West Michigan

Long Term Care Costs

Most every statistic I've seen recounts the overwhelming desire most of us share: we want to continue living in our homes as long as possible.

Up until very recently, Federal payment plans seem to have been skewed in exactly the opposite direction. They seemed  to encourage  "nursing homes" as the only alternative.

Lately that's been changing.

Perhaps statistics like those below, reported in today's edition of "USA Today," have caught policymakers attention.

"Long-term care costs
Average cost of long-term care in 2006

Private room in a                 $206 a day
nursing home                       $75,190  annually
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Semi-private room               $183  a day
in a nursing home                $66,795 annually

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Home health care aide         $19 an hour

Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute"

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In most cases, reverse mortgages can provide non taxable income to fund long term care needs.

Please, not me!

Most of us would prefer to live in our own homes for as long as possible.

At least, that's the impression I have after looking at a bunch of statistics the other day.  Let's face it, the alternative in many of our minds, is living in a nursing home.

Nursing home life is described by Barry Corbet in the Jan Feb issue of  AARP The Magazine. Corbet, a disabled veteran, is admitted to a nursing home for rehabilitation after elective surgery.

Read his story here .

What struck me was that Corbet's circumstances were better than average. He knew from the beginning that his stay would be limited. He wasn't a resident of the permanent section of the institution, and as a matter of fact, he left after a seven week stay.

Read his comments on-in home help.  Do they resonate with you as they did with me?

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If Barry had owned his home, perhaps he could have used a reverse mortgage to obtain the care he needed in his own home rather than in an institution.