Senior Q and A - August Edition
Senior Q & A: Answers to Common Senior Questions
Q. Can a person use their life insurance policy to pay for long-term care?
A. Yes.
Anyone in possession of an in-force life insurance policy has the ability to transform that policy into a pre-funded financial account that will disburse a monthly benefit stipend to help pay for that individual’s long-term care needs. The conversion process transfers ownership of a life insurance policy from the original holder, to an entity that acts as the benefits administrator. The benefits administrator assumes all responsibility for paying the monthly premiums on the policy to the insurance company, and agrees to pay the previous policy holder a series of monthly payments based on the value of their policy. These payments can then be used to pay for a person’s home care, nursing home, hospice care and assisted living costs.
Q. What are bed sores and why do some seniors get them?
A. Bedsores are also known as pressure sores or decubitus ulcers.
They form when bone squeezes skin and tissue against an outside surface, usually on weight-bearing parts of the body where the bones are near the skin. Bedsores usually develop below the waist if the person is bedridden, although they can occur almost anywhere on the body. Common sites are the hips, shoulder blades, elbows, base of the spine, knees, ankles, heels, and even between fingers and toes. Most pressure sores affect patients over 70 years old who are bedridden in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Seniors are particularly vulnerable because their skin usually becomes thinner and more fragile with age.
Q. What’s the percentage of seniors affected by cataracts?
A. By age 65, over 90 percent of people have a cataract and half of the people between the ages of 75 and 85 have lost some vision due to a cataract. A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye. As a person ages, proteins in the lens of the eye begin to break down and the lens becomes cloudy. You may not even realize you have a cataract because it usually grows very slowly and may not impede vision early on. While cataracts are rarely dangerous, after a number of years they will likely affect vision. The number of Americans getting cataract surgery is on the rise as active baby boomers are getting the procedure earlier and often having both eyes repaired, a new study finds. Most patients will experience vision improvement virtually immediately after surgery.
Q. What’s a good way to compare senior living residences?
A. If you’re in the process of evaluating senior living residences for yourself or a loved one, alternativesforseniors.com provides a number of helpful tools. Use the Independent Living Checklist to help determine if an independent living situation is the right choice. Use the Assisted Living Checklist to help with information gathering when visiting various senior living residences. Use the Nursing/Rehab Checklist to heighten your awareness of what to look for as you assess different nursing or rehabilitation homes.
BLOG Date: Thursday, August 13, 2015
Writer: Ryan Allen