Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

When service members are forced to leave the military by war injuries or illness, they face a complex system for getting health and disability benefits. Sometimes, health care gets cut off when new veterans find they need it most. Some retired soldiers and their families say they are worried that the Pentagon won’t spend enough money to give the injured the care they deserve.

Tim Ngo almost died in a grenade attack in Iraq. He sustained a serious head injury; surgeons had to cut out part of his skull. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he learned to walk and talk again. He needed personal care assistant at his home as well.

When he got back home to Minnesota, he wore a white plastic helmet to protect the thinned-out patches of his skull. People on the street snickered, so Ngo’s mother took a black marker and wrote on the helmet: U.S. ARMY, BACK FROM IRAQ. On this much, everyone agrees.

But here is the part that is in dispute: The Army says Tim Ngo is only 10 percent disabled.

“I was hoping I would get at least 50 or 60 or 70 percent,” Ngo says. “But they said, ‘Yeah, you’re only going to get 10 percent’… And I was pretty outraged.”

When a service member is retired for medical reasons, the military’s disability rating makes a difference. If Ngo had been rated 30 percent disabled or higher, he would have gotten a monthly disability check instead of a small severance check. He also would have stayed in the military’s health-care system. Instead, Ngo enrolled with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Typically, there’s a waiting period for the VA.

In October, while he was uninsured, Ngo had a seizure, caused by his war injury. He remembers being outside and blacking out; he fell to the ground on the driveway. “My girlfriend was freaking out because she didn’t know what to do,” Ngo says. “She didn’t know if I was going to die because I had hit the wrong side of my head.” An ambulance took Ngo to the nearest emergency room for treatment. It cost him $10,000. Ngo says that today, the bills for the incident are still unresolved.

It’s events like these that make home care such a vital element of one’s recovery process and why we are so vocal about home care support.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care makes home care simple for all.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

According to a recent study I read, about 34% of elderly U.S. residents who have long-term care insurance and claimed benefits used it last year to pay for in-home care, according to a study released last week by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Nearly 30% of long-term care payments in 2006 were for assisted living costs, and about 36% of payments were for nursing home care, the study found. Total payout for long-term care in 2006 amounted to $3.3 billion. Wow, $3.3 BILLION!

One of the key findings of the study was that “although long-term care insurance is closely linked in consumers’ minds with nursing home care,” people are more likely to use their long-term care insurance to pay for in-home care or assisted living facilities. That’s the part I thought was interesting and amazing. 34% or a full third of all claims go to pay for in-home care!

The article estimates that about eight million U.S. residents have long-term care insurance through an individual policy or employer-sponsored plan. This type of insurance is relatively inexpensive and easy to disburse payments to home care providers for services.

Here’s another interesting and amazing statistic:

Nearly 80% of all long-term care is provided in-home, most of it by family members at no cost. The care that “29 million Americans provide for free amounts to an estimated $306 billion” annually, according to a similar study. There’s actually, two interesting facts here: 1) that 80% of all long-term care in provided in-home and 2) most of it by family members at no cost.

Here’s another statistic:

Medicaid spending for in-home care has tripled between 1996 and 2005 to $22.7 billion. While Medicaid will provide aides for in-home care, they are limited to services including light house cleaning, errands or bathing and are not permitted to provide skilled nursing care, such as help with feeding tubes. Long-term insurance will pay for those types of needs though.

It’s important to know, you can use your long-term insurance to help pay for in-home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I’ve been asked many times, what costs and options are there with home care. Well, there are many and in today’s society, families are frequently geographically separated, thus getting help from family members less likely. Given a preference for remaining at home and given the increasing likelihood that family assistance may not be available, other sources of assistance may meet our needs as we age. These include home care, independent living (sometimes called congregate/group housing), assisted living, and continuing care facilities or nursing homes. Each provides a large measure of independence for as long as possible at varying levels of cost based on the care provided.

Home care is exactly what it sounds like and the most cost effective option. A person dependent on others for some essential activity receives that service while living at home. The services can range from skilled medical care to ordinary household chores. Depending on the activity involved, home care is the most cost effective option by far. Home care is probably best suited for those who are still reasonably independent and mobile, but who need some help with such tasks as house cleaning, maintenance, cooking, laundry, and shopping. The cost of some home care services may be offset by long-term care insurance depending on the type of policy purchased and the assistance rendered.

Independent living (or congregate/group housing) involves either the ownership or rental of a unit in a complex within which one may receive a variety of services. These may include (but are not limited to) shared recreational facilities, common dining, housecleaning, 24-hour security, transportation, organized activities, and health monitoring. The arrangement affords private living coupled with available assistance for those needing help with limited health services, cooking, shopping, transportation, and housecleaning. Costs vary depending on location, but often range between $1,500 and $2,500 per month. Note, though, that these costs can be much higher. Typically, the resident covers the majority of expenses in these facilities. Long-term insurance may pay for some services, depending again, on the type of policy purchased and the assistance rendered.

Assisted living is much like independent living in that it still affords a measure of independence and private accommodations; however, it is most appropriate for those who are less independent in caring for their personal needs. It’s a living arrangement suitable for someone who is mentally capable but physically impaired, or physically capable but mentally impaired. Like an independent living facility, assisted living offers transportation, meals, common leisure areas, and organized activities. Additionally, assisted living will, along with other services, provide greater assistance with medications, transferring, bathing, eating, dressing, and laundry. Daily rates depend on the location, services provided, and facility involved, but typically range between $75 and $150. These charges can be much higher. Assisted living facilities are most beneficial for those who require some daily assistance but not continuous nursing care. Most of the expense will be borne by the resident, but some long-term care insurance now provides coverage for many of these expenses. Because of the expanded skilled medical services available, assisted living facilities are licensed by the states, and Medicaid might cover their cost for residents who qualify.

A continuing care retirement community (CCRC), otherwise known as a nursing home, provides lifetime housing and care over a wide variety of services. While the resident must be independent on entry, if that person later becomes disabled, then extensive personal, health, and nursing services will be provided by the facility. Although these arrangements run the gamut of lifestyles from totally independent living through 24-hour nursing care, they are quite expensive. Some charge an entrance fee of $20,000 to $50,000 and monthly fees ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 will be assessed for maintenance, household work, and other personal services. Almost all of this expense must be borne by the resident unless they are insured. A CCRC is perhaps best suited to someone who is wealthy enough to afford the fees and who wants to provide for health needs as he or she ages without having to relocate.

Many communities also offer free or low-cost escort, companionship, shopping, transportation, cleaning, and other personal services through volunteer, social, and professional organizations. Regardless, as we age the likelihood of our need for such types of health care increases. Long-term care insurance under certain conditions may help meet this need. So may the options discussed above. We each must decide for ourselves what option, with or without insurance, is most appropriate for us.

It’s important to know, as health care concerns continues to increase, home care is still the most cost effective and viable life-sustaining option.

Author:

Thomas D. Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

You know, there are Personal Care Assistance needs everywhere, all the time, for many different types of health needs…right in front of us and sometimes we don’t even know it.

A couple weekends ago we were at Mall of America with some relatives. We were talking about PCA services and someone asked how can you ‘see’ PCA needs everywhere? Considering the line of work we are in, we are probably a little more in-tune than most with Personal Care Assistance services but, it was not always like that, until it hit close to home for our family.

I asked her to look around at all the people and tell me what she sees through her eyes. As she struggled for a minute with the answer, I asked her to think of who COULD use some extra help or assistance with their daily activities routine – the things we take for granted.

Once she started to look around and understand, I mean really look at what people were doing or trying to do I asked her to think about how they might feel now. That is when she really became aware of the people around her and the needs they might have.

She ‘saw’ people with potential PCA needs everywhere…an elderly woman trying to navigate her walker from a store front to a mall bench, a child with Down Syndrome laughing as he ran through the food court, a younger man who was in a major accident with casts on both legs being pushed in a wheelchair, a young mental health patient being lead through the mall for a day of shopping excitement, an older gentleman sitting down attached to an oxygen tank and so on.

She became obviously aware the need is there.

All too often we close the door on this valuable service that is available to everyone because we do not always see the benefit it can bring. I asked, how did you quickly see so many people with this need? Her answer was easy…it was how they might feel without PCA service. That was a path she did not want to walk down. She wanted to aspire to feeling better about things than having to undertake the thoughts of a less than full life without the help of a PCA.

It’s important to know, that PCA needs are everywhere.

Author:

Thomas D. Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Have you ever been caught off guard by the challenge of care giving to a parent, a spouse or a child in the midst of your busy life? Most of us prefer to avoid this subject. Too many of us are caught up in the physical world with our work, families, attainment of goals, and our material possessions. However, no one knows when they might be presented with this challenge. Perhaps now is the time to think about it.

The numbers of graying “baby-boomers” and the increase in degenerative disease precedes a large population of adults and children who will face having to care for their parents or a loved one at one time or another in the very near future. Care giving crosses all illnesses, conditions, ages and health concerns - physical, geriatric and mental health. Having support through a time like this is so important and we can’t help but emphasize how we must become more aware of this challenge which will confront all of us in the near future, either for a loved one or oneself.

Caregivers, whose numbers are increasing rapidly, are challenged to cope with catastrophic illnesses like cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, MS and many other debilitating diseases. We provide assistance on practical care giving matters and give meaning to the spiritual and personal challenges that result from being a care giver.

I remember when my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and how my dad, brother, sister and I looked at each other not knowing what that would bring. It was tough not knowing about the future. Even under the most challenging circumstances, taking care of someone you love can transform your life forever. It has ours.

We provide you an opportunity to look at many of the issues one may experience or are already experiencing in your time of need. This reassurance comes from knowing someone is there to help when you need it the most and are not sure who to trust or where to turn.

It’s important to know, that aspirations can be turned into experiences.