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Home Care Cost Factors for Seniors
Home Care Cost Factors for Seniors
Many seniors simply don’t want to go to retirement homes, and this is understandable, but they often still need care from trained caregivers. You might be wondering how much money this is going to cost you, and it’s why we are here to talk about home care cost factors for seniors.
The Biggest Cost Factors
Let’s now talk about the five biggest home care cost factors for seniors, the most important aspects of home care that will determine the overall cost.
Health
Perhaps the biggest cost factor that goes towards determining the price of home care for seniors is their health, and it usually comes in the form of an hourly rate. Simply put, the healthier a senior is, and therefore the less care and expertise they need, the less it is going to cost, and the opposite is true as well. A moderately or very healthy senior who just needs some help here and there, but is otherwise healthy, is not going to be charged nearly as much money for home care.
This is because the nurses or home care givers don’t need to be trained extensively in terms of health care for specific conditions. However, serious conditions, both mental and physical, require an increased amount of care, more knowledge, and more expertise in relation to specific conditions. The overall health of the senior in question will determine the hourly or daily rate that is being charged. The healthier a patient is, the less it is going to cost.
Type and Amount of Care Needed
Something else to keep in mind in terms of costs for home care for seniors is what type and amount of care is needed. Generally speaking, there are two main types of care given to seniors in their homes, and each will come with a different price range.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
These are higher level activities, such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping that will allow a senior to live independently. Costs for this type of care are not too high, seeing as the care giver does not have to be overly specialized or perform very hard tasks. This is generally for seniors who need a bit of help with their daily tasks, at least the more taxing ones, but are otherwise in generally good health. This is usually the least expensive type of home care, as the care needed is usually fairly limited.
Activities of Daily Living
This kind of care is a bit more extensive and it requires caregivers to do more, and this also comes with a higher cost. This involves basic tasks that seniors need to perform to stay healthy and keep living, such as eating, bathing, going to the toilet, dressing, getting in and out of bed, and moving around the home. This is usually also going to involve treating illnesses that come with old age, monitoring health, and administering medications as well. Simply put, the more intensive the care required by the seniors, and the more care that is needed, the more it is going to cost.
Time Spent in the Home
The next cost factor is how much time a caregiver will have to spend in the home of the senior. The factors which we have discussed before will determine the hourly cost of the care being provided. However, what you then need to think about is how many hours that caregiver has to spend with the patient/client.
Simply put, the more hours that are spent in the home caring for the senior, the more that care is going to cost. There are even some caregivers that live with seniors for the majority of the time, and of course, this is going to cost even more. As we said, the type of care needed is one factor, but the amount or time spent caring for a senior is going play a large role in determining the cost as well.
Private or Government Assisted
Yet another cost factor to think about is the level of assistance and where it is coming from. You may have a good insurance plan that covers most or all of the care costs, you may be receiving government subsidies, or you may employ a private contractor or caregiver. It all depends on who is providing the care.
Generally speaking, private care entities are going to be the more expensive ones. It also has to do with the size of the caregiving organization, the support which they receive, and the quality and type of care which they are known to provide. The more highly qualified the caregiver in question is, the more it is going to cost.
Where the Client Lives
The other thing which can greatly influence the cost of home care for seniors is where the seniors live. For instance, if a senior lives in a city and in close proximity to the headquarters of the caregiving institution in question, then the cost will be a bit lower, simply because the caregiver does not have to spend as much time or money for travel.
However, the further from the center or a city or the caregiving headquarters a senior is located, the more it is going to cost. It’s all about how long it takes a caregiver to actually get to the home of the senior. It can cost a good deal of money to pay for caregivers that have to travel far distances just to reach the home of the senior.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that caregiving for seniors in their own homes is usually not particularly cheap no matter what. However, there are a variety of factors, such as the amount of time spent in the home, the type of care needed, the health of the senior, and the distance it takes for a caregiver to get to the senior, that will influence the cost.
