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Long-Term Care: Planning for Finance, Medical, and Living Expenses
We're living exciting bonus years--decades that our parents and grandparents didn't have. But how to navigate this complex terrain? Questions abound around long-term care planning: Where to live? How to get the best medical care? What to do about advance directives, wills and trusts, and estate planning? And how to pay for it all after you retire? Getting accurate information and answers wasn't easy. Until now.
AARP's Navigating Your Later Years For Dummies helps you and your family understand the growing range of opportunities. Even more importantly, it helps you chart the next steps to live the life you choose, as independently as you choose, no matter your specific circumstances and needs. This book:
* Covers home modifications so that you can stay at home safely for as long as you like
* Lays out the opportunities and costs associated with independent living, assisted living and other options
* Gives you a range of driving and transportation alternatives
* Helps you navigate the healthcare system, Medicare, and Medicaid
* Sorts out the various sources of care at home
* Reviews the legal documents you should prepare and update
* Helps you determine whether you need long-term care insurance
* Gives you guidance on talking with your family about sensitive issues, including your wishes as you age
With this new comprehensive book, you'll get the credible information and resources you need to face the challenges facing us as we live the life we choose. Here, finally, is a roadmap for you and your family to best understand, and plan ahead.
List of contents
Introduction 1
Part 1: Getting Started with Navigating Your Later Years 5
Chapter 1: Looking Ahead: The Big Picture 7
Chapter 2: A Personal Inventory: Past, Present, and Future 21
Chapter 3: Finding Services 31
Chapter 4: Making Decisions: A Family Affair 43
Part 2: Choosing Where to Live 53
Chapter 5: Staying in Your Home 55
Chapter 6: Under One Roof: Generations Living Together 73
Chapter 7: Downsizing for Now and Later 87
Chapter 8: Assisted and Independent Living and Other Group Settings 95
Chapter 9: Beyond Your Home: Living in a Community 113
Chapter 10: Getting Around: Transportation Options 125
Part 3: Legal and Financial Planning 139
Chapter 11: Unraveling the Rules of Medicare and Medicaid 141
Chapter 12: Paying for Care: Long-Term Care Insurance and Other Options 161
Chapter 13: Financial Matters: Money Management, Wills, Trusts, and More 177
Part 4: Managing Your Healthcare 193
Chapter 14: Choosing Good Medical Care 195
Chapter 15: Demystifying Home Care 211
Chapter 16: Understanding the Different Roles of Nursing Homes 227
Chapter 17: Getting the Healthcare You Want (And Avoiding What You Don't Want) 241
Part 5: Services for Special Groups 253
Chapter 18: LGBT Older Adults 255
Chapter 19: Services for Veterans 269
Chapter 20: Family Caregivers 283
Part 6: The Part of Tens 305
Chapter 21: Ten Myths about Aging and Future Care 307
Chapter 22: Ten Resources with State-by-State Information 317
Part 7: Appendixes 325
Appendix A: Glossary 327
Appendix B: Resources 339
Index 347
About the author
Carol Levine directs the Families and Health Care Project at the United Hospital Fund in New York. She is an expert on aging, health, long-term care, and family caregiving, and writes on those topics for both professional and consumer audiences.
Summary
Long-Term Care: Planning for Finance, Medical, and Living Expenses
We're living exciting bonus years--decades that our parents and grandparents didn't have. But how to navigate this complex terrain? Questions abound around long-term care planning: Where to live? How to get the best medical care? What to do about advance directives, wills and trusts, and estate planning? And how to pay for it all after you retire? Getting accurate information and answers wasn't easy. Until now.
AARP's Navigating Your Later Years For Dummies helps you and your family understand the growing range of opportunities. Even more importantly, it helps you chart the next steps to live the life you choose, as independently as you choose, no matter your specific circumstances and needs. This book:
* Covers home modifications so that you can stay at home safely for as long as you like
* Lays out the opportunities and costs associated with independent living, assisted living and other options
* Gives you a range of driving and transportation alternatives
* Helps you navigate the healthcare system, Medicare, and Medicaid
* Sorts out the various sources of care at home
* Reviews the legal documents you should prepare and update
* Helps you determine whether you need long-term care insurance
* Gives you guidance on talking with your family about sensitive issues, including your wishes as you age
With this new comprehensive book, you'll get the credible information and resources you need to face the challenges facing us as we live the life we choose. Here, finally, is a roadmap for you and your family to best understand, and plan ahead.
