Theoretically, if two women left the nursing home at about the same time, or died, the administrators could place their former roommates together, thus opening a room for men. “But unless you have two men to bring in, you’re taking a chance,” said Joan Rubin-Kritz, director of social services at Greenwood House, a Jewish nursing home outside Trenton. “If the next three people who call are women, you can’t take them.”

For some people, one alternative to nursing-home care is home health-care, which Medicare pays for in certain cases. You can learn more about that here.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents. If you have any questions about this post or are need help finding senior care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.

But they may not all be completely covered in the hefty fees you pay, points out The Wall Street Journal. That depends on what kind of contract you’ve signed:

Generally, the communities use one of three types of contracts. All provide housing, residential services and amenities, but vary in how they cover nursing home care. The most extensive contract provides for unlimited nursing home care; the other two cover a limited number of days or charge fees just for services used. Obviously, the unlimited contracts have the highest upfront costs (though there may be offsetting tax benefits), and fee-for-service the least.

The WSJ article also covers other factors to consider when evaluating a CCRC. For additional tips, check out these previous OurParents posts.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents. If you have any questions about this post or are need help finding senior care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.

Or, if you’re the DIY type, you can buy a construction kit for such homes, reports The Huffington Post:

For about $17,000, you get the plans and materials to construct a locked shell for a 681-square-foot structure — walls, windows and roof trusses, all neatly numbered and ready for you to assemble like a puzzle. Additional costs will be incurred for plumbing, sheet-rocking and electrical work, appliances, fixtures plus any permits needed. Those less construction-minded might also hire someone to oversee the job for them and when all is said and done, expect the final costs to be around $60,000, experts say.

Of course, you could also add a suite to your home or even convert your garage. Just make sure whatever you do is easily accessible for walkers and wheelchairs, which is a big selling point for all of these backyard suites.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents. If you have any questions about this post or are need help finding senior care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.

The Medicare donut hole is that period that kicks in after Part D beneficiaries have racked up around $6,657.50 in drug costs. Medicare stops paying for medication until they reach another threshold. While in this coverage gap, many people opt for generic drugs because they’re normally cheaper than the brand names.

But a new policy gives beneficiaries in the donut hole 50-percent off brand-name drugs. So, the Post reports, they can end up being less expensive. For example, there’s the story of 80-year-old beneficiary Stan Dress:

When he filled his prescription for UroXatral, a medication to treat an enlarged prostate, the pharmacy substituted the generic, giving him a 90-day prescription of Alfuzosin for $224.97 instead of the $142.16 he had been quoted for the brand name.

Dress thought it was a fluke, but the same thing happened a few months later when he spent $196.07 for his high blood pressure medicine Losartan. The brand name version, called Cozaar, would have cost $140.35 – $55.72 less.

For more on saving money with Medicare, check out these posts:

• Find Cheaper Medicine With Online AARP Calculator
• New Medicare Benefit: Weight-Loss Counseling
• Which Medicare Services Are Free? Where to Find Out
• Medicare “Extra Help”: Seniors Not Signing Up

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents. If you have any questions about this post or are need help finding senior-care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.

The program is accepting applications until February 6. According to a press release, participants must:

• Have multiple chronic conditions
• Be covered by original, fee-for-service Medicare
• Require someone’s assistance with two or more activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating or walking.
• Have had a medically-necessary hospital admission within the last 12 months
• Have received rehabilitation services in the last 12 months

The trial may accept as many as 10,000 people. You can read more in the press release and apply to the program at CMS.gov.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.

From an AARP column featuring five tips to make the most of Medicare:

4. Be wise about prescription drug costs. Take time to learn about your lower-cost medication options. Use the Doughnut Hole Calculator to learn how to avoid or delay falling into the Medicare Part D coverage gap, also known as the “doughnut hole.” This tool is really easy to use and lets you print a letter for your doctor for each medication option that may save you money. In fact, you may find ways to stay out of the doughnut hole all together.

You can read all five tips here: “How To: Get the Most Out of Your Medicare.”

You may also be interested in:

• Which Medicare Services Are Free? Where to Find Out
• Medicare “Extra Help”: Eligible Seniors Not Signing Up

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.

Sun Health isn’t the only retirement community to offer such help. But more typical are smaller types of aid, reports The Wall Street Journal:

The most common assistance being offered is among the least expensive: giving a home a fresh look. When David Barker, a retired engineer, was trying to sell his home in Independence, Mo., to move into John Knox Village, a continuing-care retirement community in Lee’s Summit, Mo., a consultant hired by John Knox spent hours staging Mr. Barker’s home at virtually no cost to him.

The house sold, and “afterward, the same John Knox consultant helped Mr. Barker downsize and move.” The article, “A Push to Turn ‘For Sale’ Into ‘Sold,’” says some assisted living communities are offering help as well. But there are precautions to take, it says–including, read the fine print.

You can search for retirement and assisted living communities in your area here.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.

The author’s father needs some substantial in-home care—probably eight to 10 hours a day, including “nighttime needs,” which push up the hourly cost. The parents have long-term care insurance, but, the author says:

The LTC coverage doesn’t kick in for 90 days, which means they’ll have to foot the bill for three months on their own — to the tune of somewhere between $7k-9k/month. Yikes! That’s a huge amount. And even after the LTC policy kicks in, they’ll be facing $2k-$3.8k in monthly expenses related to his care.

Fortunately, the author’s parents have enough money saved to cover the costs. You can read the post here: “The High Cost of Elder Care.” Some of the reader comments below it are also interesting.

Have you or your parents used a long-term care policy yet? What was your experience?

You may also be interested in:

•  Tips to Plan Financially for Your Own Old Age

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.

He tells Mindy Todd on her New England NPR radio show The Point:

What I’ve learned is there’s two things that are most important to our elder parents. First is maintaining control of their lives and how can they stay in their home, how can they continue to drive, how can they continue to live the life that they’ve lived. That’s first and most important. But as they start to age and as they lose their health, a second thing becomes increasingly important, and that’s how do I want to be remembered? How will my children, my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren remember me?

Mauterstock suggests starting the conversation with the latter topic and then introducing the idea of a family meeting to discuss the former. In the interview, “Aging Parents,” he also talks about who should organize the meeting (the sibling he calls the alpha child), how to introduce the topic and who should be involved.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.

Ann Shields, executive director of Cypress Springs Alzheimer’s & Memory Support Residence in Tulsa, OK, goes over some potential signs of Alzheimer’s in an article in Tulsa World:

There are 10 warning signs, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, that might help you identify the disease in a loved one: memory loss that disrupts daily life; challenges in planning or solving problems; difficulty completing familiar tasks; confusion with time or place; trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships; new problems with words in speaking or writing; misplacing things and the inability to retrace steps; decreased or poor judgment; withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in mood and personality.

If you suspect a loved one may have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, contact his or her regular primary care physician to discuss the concerns.

In the article, “Family Gatherings Good Time to Notice Behavior Changes,” Shields also mentions a few key things to look for in an assisted living community for people with dementia.

Tomorrow, we’ll go over tips on how to start difficult conversations with aging parents around Christmas.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.