As you enter your golden years, you may be considering home care vs. nursing home care. After all, you enjoy living in your home and seeing your family members regularly, but you could benefit from the different levels of care that a nursing home provides. How do you make this decision? Let’s look at assisted living vs. home care offerings and how each option offers you the long-term care you want and need.
What Level of Medical Care Do You Need?
If you have simple medical needs, such as medication reminders, home care services may best fit your needs. Home care is unskilled care that assists you with the activities of daily living, such as grooming, hygiene, dressing, meal preparation, and light housekeeping, among other tasks. Veterans who need day-to-day help to complete tasks that improve their quality of life often benefit from home care the most.
However, if you need access to skilled nursing and major pieces of medical equipment to help you manage your health conditions, assisted living may be the right choice for you. An assisted living community can provide multiple levels of care, and you can move between those different levels as your condition changes. For example, you can move to a higher care level if your condition worsens, and then move back down to a lower care level if it improves. If this sounds like a good way to manage your current medical conditions, then assisted living may be the form of senior care you need.
The Cost of Assisted Living vs. Home Care
Cost is often a major factor in this type of decision. Ultimately, you should choose the option that is most affordable for you. However, AVCC can help you access Veterans’ benefits that you can use to cover the cost of home care. For example, we screen Veterans for their eligibility for the VA’s Aid & Attendance pension benefit. If you are eligible for this benefit and you successfully apply for it, you can use the money it provides to cover the cost of Veterans’ home care services or the costs of a nursing home.
Weighing Each Options’ Pros and Cons
Both choices have their upsides and downsides. For instance, home care allows you to stay in your home, but it’s unskilled assistance, so you may also have to hire additional skilled home health care services to handle certain medical conditions. On the other hand, moving into assisted living can also be expensive, and it requires you to leave your home as well as your family and friends. That’s why AVCC is here to help you understand all your options and how they can improve your quality of life.
How AVCC Helps You Make This Decision
We help Veterans decide between home care and assisted living by helping them discover the Veterans’ pension benefits they qualify for. Then we guide them through the application process. Our VA-accredited staff attorney checks the applications before we submit them. Then our case managers continually contact the VA to make sure each application moves smoothly through the approval process. Once you receive your pension benefit, you can put it toward the cost of home care or assisted living. If you choose home care, we can help you find a home care provider in your area that meets your needs.
Cost is often a major factor in this type of decision. Ultimately, you should choose the option that is most affordable for you. However, AVCC can help you access Veterans’ benefits that you can use to cover the cost of home care. For example, we screen Veterans for their eligibility for the VA’s Aid & Attendance pension benefit.
Make Your Decision With AVCC
If you want to decide between assisted living and home care and you want to know what Veterans’ benefits you’re eligible for, reach out to AVCC today. We can help you access the funds you need to make the right decision to maintain a good quality of life. Let us help you make this decision.
