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Book Review: Beat the Nursing Home Trap

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Book review: Beat the Nursing Home Trap
by Lynne Page

The third edition of Nolo Press's self-help legal book, Beat the Nursing Home Trap: A Consumer's Guide to Assisted Living & Long-Term Care, features a new section on the controversial issue of buying long-term care insurance.

When anyone begins to consider long-term care for himself or a family member, the gamut of decisions to be made can be overwhelming. This book could be a good place to start. Like most Nolo books, it is "user friendly," written in clear English and divided into short sections with headings. After describing various kinds of at-home and residential care, the author discusses how such care may be paid for-including by Medicare, Medi-Cal and private insurance. Estate planning tools such as powers of attorney and trusts are also briefly explained.

The greatest value of the book is probably in helping the reader to ask the right questions of the right people. For example, on a subject that might seem simple at first, nursing home food, the author goes beyond the
obvious questions of nutrition and taste. He suggests the reader ask about the extent to which the facility caters to dietary restrictions, whether for health, religious or digestive reasons. Can relatives bring in food from outside, and, if so, is there a convenient place to keep it? At meals, is there adequate staff to assist residents who need help? Are residents rushed through their meals? What happens if a resident is late for a meal? When you look at the menus for a couple of weeks, do you see variety and the inclusion of some fresh foods? Finally, the reader is urged to eat two or three meals at the facility and to talk to the residents about their dining experiences.

The author also underscores the need to ask questions about one of the more controversial topics covered-the advisability of buying long-term care insurance. Such insurance has been widely advertised lately and at first seems very attractive to people who fear their savings will be gobbled up by nursing home fees. While pointing out that such insurance can be a good choice for certain people, mostly those with considerable assets besides their residence, the author cautions potential buyers to look before they leap. While there have been some improvements in long-term care insurance, many policies still pay very limited benefits. The prudent
shopper must ask many questions, including: Will the policy pay for residence in an assisted living facility? What home care benefits are included? What definition of need for care must be met for the benefits to
be paid? What premium increases can be expected and what happens if the insured can no longer afford the premiums in the future? Instead of paying premiums, could the consumer make other, less risky, financial investments to pay for long-term care if needed?

A reader in any state will find the warnings about insurance and most other topics very useful, but this book may not be the best place to look for detailed advice on Medi-Cal. The author is addressing a national audience and some of his comments about Medicaid are not fully accurate as to California's version, Medi-Cal. My only other criticism is also minor. A variety of sometimes inconsistent figures are presented regarding a person's chance of entering a nursing home.

For those who are concerned about long-term care, this book should prove very helpful. The book is now part of the library of Senior Legal Services and can be checked out.

  Seniors of Humboldt and Del Norte counties who have questions regarding public benefits or consumer issues may call Senior Legal Services at 443-9747 to make an appointment. Beat the Nursing Home Trap, by Joseph Matthews, 3rd edition, 1999, Nolo Press. www.nolo.com.

Lynne Page is staff attorney with Senior Legal Services. You can e-mail her at hsrc@northcoast.com.

One-time article Copyright 2000 by Humboldt Senior Resource Center.