Motion Picture Home Closes

Upon reading the Opinion section of today's Los Angeles Times, I realized how sad it was that people had to place they knew as home because they had depended on promises and someone elses money to make sure that they were taken care of when they could not longer care for themselves. They paid dues to the union, which only really allowed them to live in the facility. It was never a promise to fund the care. Residents were required to spend their own money until they had little left and then Foundation resources and Medical would pay the bill. Unfortunately, foundation funding ran dry and California is $203 million behind on Medical payments. There are many nursing home that are not getting paid along with the Motion Picture Home.

This is a sad reminder that the only way to make sure that you have control of how and where you are taken care of is to have your own resources These resources may mean money markets, real estate, stocks, annuities, bonds or pensions. Even the income from some of these resources may not be enough as we have seen from the fall is stock prices and value of real estate.

The one sure way to know exactly how much money you will have to fund a long term care need is a long term care insurance policy. When designing a plan, be careful to understand how much of the financial risk you are maintaining and how much will be transferred to an insurance company. Make sure you can afford to fund the difference if you don't purchase enough insurance.

When you loose your independence due to a physical or cognitive impairment, make sure you make plans to maintain your financial Independence so that you have choices over where you will receive your care and control or those decisions.