4 Ways To Pay For Home Health Care Services
Home health care for a parent is more than just finding the right provider. You also have to worry about paying for the care. With the costs of health care increasing, you might find the bill a bit more than you can handle. Luckily, there are ways that you can get the care your parent needs for a reasonable price.
Health Insurance
One of the obvious methods of paying for the home health care that your parent needs is health insurance. Most insurance policies have provisions that allow for home health care. You might have to pay a deductible upfront or other fees before coverage kicks in, but the money you save in the long run will be well worth it.
Tax Qualifications
There is a chance that you might be able to deduct the costs of your parent's home health care from your taxes. Check your insurance to find out if the costs are tax deductible. You should also talk to your accountant or tax preparer about the possible deductions you can take.
Government Programs
Medicaid and Medicare do pay for home health care services for people who meet certain qualifications. One of the provisions is that your parent is homebound or unable to leave the home without exerting considerable effort.
Regardless of whether your parent has Medicaid or Medicare, he or she has to prove that there is a medical need for the home health care. For instance, your parent could be eligible if he or she is in a wheelchair and needs assistance with daily living tasks such as bathing and dressing. A doctor will have to certify that there is a medical need.
Life Insurance
Check your parent's life insurance policy to find out whether or not there is a surplus. The surplus policy can sometimes be used to pay for expenses such as home health care. The option to take the surplus is known as exercising the life settlement. Your parent will have to sell the life insurance policy to an investor who will hold onto the policy until he or she is able to collect on it. It is important to note that you and your family will not receive any payments from the policy if it is sold.
Paying for home health care is a concern shared by many. Fortunately, with some ingenuity and careful examining of you and your parent's finances, you can cover the expenses and not worry about who is taking care of your loved one. (For more information on home health care, contact a company such as All Stat Home Health)
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