Choose the Right Long-Term Care: Home Care, Assisted Living and Nursing Homes (Long-Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It) [Paperback]

If you need legal knowledge, and can find a Nolo Press book that covers the topic, just buy it. You won't go wrong. This book is no exception.

An elderly family member is facing choices about whether to enter long term care. We needed to know all the ins and outs of various options, including Medicaid, Medicare, and veterans benefits. This book covers everthing of importance in clear, concise text.

One problem in a situation like this is that the "experts", like the case managers and social workers at hospitals and nursing homes, seldom have the time or incentive to tell you the whole story. It's up to you to figure out what your options are, and what protections you have. This book covers all of the bases in clear, understandable language.

Important note: several laws and regulations regarding transfer of assets and Medicaid/MediCal coverage eligability changed in early 2006. Make sure you understand the current laws. This book was published in late 2006 and is very up-to-date.

Like I said, another winner from Nolo.

I am in the middle of dealing with a failing parent. I have consulted with all the recommended experts (accountants, multiple attorneys, social workers, private care managers, all the medical people). This book lays out clearly and very helpfully what I had hoped all the attorneys would've, but didn't. This book gives you the information you need to make your own decisions, rather than relying the 'experts' to decide for you. Worth every penny and the time taken to read it.

I really thought this book would help explore options for long-term care. Nolo books are usually "dummies guide"-style books, written as an introduction to a topic.

I was somewhat surprised to discover this book had nearly no information whatsoever about how to locate an affordable long-term care facility (assisted living, retirement home, live-in nurse, etc). Instead, most of the book focuses on issues like senior health insurance, medicare, reverse mortgages, supplemental insurance, how to decipher a nursing home contract, etc.

My approach to all decisions in life (including health care, long-term care, etc) is this: determine the need, then determine the best way to go about it (meaning, highest quality, most cost efficient, etc).

So when my maternal grandparents were thinking about assisted living, they looked at the high rates and the small room sizes, and hated it. So we all sat down and determined the real *needs* (this process took several weeks): i.e., help with a few meals each week, help with laundry, help getting up & down the stairs, etc.

Once the needs were clearly identified, we took ALL the pre-conceived notions OFF the table (nursing home, assisted living, etc), and started with a completely blank sheet. We determined their needs would be met by staying in their current home but adding (A) a chair lift, (B) a certified nurse to check in once a week (cost of $20 per visit), & (C) hiring part-time help with food and laundry (found on craigslist, cost of $40 per week). All their medical & living were solved with super-affordable methods (MUCH much cheaper than assisted living), AND they are super happy!

This book did not help one iota in our creative problem-solving process. That's not to say it's not useful - I've found that most Nolo books (I've read 5 or 6) contain very common, watered-down advice (do NOT expect creative problem-solving), and most of it is just reprinted from other sources. (For example, the Medicare sections seem like they're just cut & pasted from Medicare literature &/or the Medicare web site). And, if you read literature like the AARP newsletter or Prevention magazine, or if you listen to talk radio like Bruce Williams or Clark Howard, then nothing here will be new to you.

I know some people here go nuts over these Nolo books, and if you have absolutely no idea where to start with a subject, then you will definitely benefit from it! But as I said, if you are well read, can browse the internet, are familiar with the Medicare web site, then this will be redundant information for you & you should probably look for something more specific to your needs.