When “Later” Comes Sooner Than You Think: Long-Term Care Planning

“I just wish I’d started looking earlier,” one caregiver in Metro Atlanta lamented. “We were making big decisions in a crisis.”

As the primary caregiver of her older brother, she handled everything for him - paying his bills, taking him to his doctor appointments, ensuring he ate ‘real’ meals, doing his laundry - all while managing a full-time job and her own family. 

For years he lived alone in an apartment a block away, but following a recent surgery, his social isolation and declining mental health reached its breaking point, and his caregiver had mere weeks to move him into an assisted living facility. 

She struggled to balance all the factors in deciding on a facility - cost, distance from her and his doctors, safe and reliable transportation options, and available programs to mitigate his social isolation and anxieties.

Her experience is one many caregivers share. Long-term care planning often begins under pressure — when time, options, and patience are running short. Starting earlier gives families the breathing room to make thoughtful choices about care, cost, and independence before an emergency forces the issue.

What is Long-Term Care Planning?

Long-Term care planning is the development of a care plan that factors in future risks of mobility or medical changes increasing the level of assistance an older adult needs to maintain their activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). This preparation can include financial planning or discussions with family about caregiving responsibilities.

How someone approaches long-term care planning is influenced by a myriad of factors, including their own lived experiences, cultural norms, their generation’s upbringing, and advice from family and friends. There’s no universal one-size-fits all approach.

Yet even though there’s a 70% chance of a 65-year-old needing long-term care in their remaining years, there’s often not a corresponding sense of urgency to begin planning before these perceived future disabilities arise. As one study found, only 1 in 4 individuals surveyed had spoken with their family about their long-term care preferences with only 17% discussing what roles family members would play as future caregivers.

So, why create a long-term care plan even if the support is not needed now?

• Lock in an older adult’s preferences for where and how they want to age while they still have full agency.

• Have the time to find higher quality service options for healthcare and ADL/IADL-related needs rather than scrambling and accepting anything last minute.

• Research and prepare financial options to prevent being stuck without coverage or on a long-term care insurance plan that does not match one’s needs.

• Sort legal paper work and power of attorney now so loved ones can take swift actions if needed on your behalf.

• Minimize potential overreliance on underfunded or drained public service programs.

  • As the entire baby boomer generation (76.4 million) surpasses the age 65, many publicly funded services under Medicare and Medicaid may experience financial strain and provide less coverage/assistance than anticipated.

The Two Roads of Long-Term Care: Aging in Place vs. Facility Living

A common initial misconception in long-term care planning is that it just refers to the selection and cost considerations of long-term care facilities. While that is an option, the other side of the coin (and the outcome preferred by over 90% of older adults) is aging in place.

To predict the associated costs within your long-term care plan, you’ll need to understand your ideal route and its often required auxiliary services.

Aging in Place

• Refers to older adults maintaining their independence at home with support from family, friends, home health aids / certified nursing assistants, and/or technology solutions

• Pros: 

  • Aging in a place of familiarity and comfort

  • Continued support from the community fostered over the last few years

  • Often still living in close proximity to relatives

• Expenses: For older adults that can still complete most of their ADLs, aging-in-place plans have been found to save over $1,591 per month compared to skilled nursing facilities. However, there are still many hidden costs, especially as mobility or medical needs evolve and more intense home care assistance is needed. A home health plan for 30 hours a week can on average cost $4,290 per month.

Long-Term Care Facilities

• Refers to range of facility types dedicated to providing additional levels of support for older adults, including independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing (such as memory and respite care) facilities 

• Pros: 

  • Plethora of support for ADLs and IADLs from trained professionals

  • Prescheduled community groups and outings

  • No need to worry about basic housing-related chores

  • For caregivers, comfort knowing their loved one can receive immediate assistance

• Expenses: Costs vary by state and facility type, but on average, assisted living facilities cost $42,420 in Georgia and $48,120 in North Carolina annually.

For a full list of considerations for either aging in place or long-term care facilities, you can download our free long-term planning conversation-starter checklist for older adults and caregivers. We breakdown ADLs, IADLs, healthcare conditions, legal services, and auxiliary needs such as transportation.

Long-Term Care Planning Conversation Checklist.pdf

Download PDF • 1.46MB

How many items have you discussed in your long-term care planning sessions?

More Than a Ride: ACCESS to Freedom, Safety, and Connection

On the topic of transportation, over 42 million caregivers provide or arrange rides for an older adult or individual with a disability, yet only 25% of caregivers receive external assistance with transportation. And if the caregiver cannot assist, often a feeling of burden may overtake the older adult.

While there are alternatives for older adults such as paratransit, taxi / rideshare, or public transport, these options are often limited to urban/suburban areas and may not cross county lines - a fact reflected by 90% of trips in rural communities being completed by private vehicles. And while long-term care facilities may offer internal transportation resources, these options often restrict trip distance and days/times when transport is available.

Through ACCESS by MedTrans Go, we offer a 24/7 network of certified and thoroughly vetted sedan, wheelchair, and stretcher transporters that can take you down the street to the doctor or across state lines to visit family. Check finding quality transportation off your long-term care planning list, and get your first scheduled ride 15% off. 

Schedule a Ride

You Can’t Do Everything Alone, and That’s Ok!

As you plan you’ll find that some care tasks are beyond the scope and capabilities of a single older adult or caregiver, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Coordinating high quality care takes an interwoven network of multiple support groups, financial resources, vendors, and more.

Whether you’re an older adult preparing for your future or a family caregiver preparing for that conversation, planning early makes your future life easier. You’ve got the baseball in your hands.

And let us support you! With our 15% discount, take the first step towards securing a reliable partner in your transportation needs.