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Shanna ParrishTaylor
Shanna Parrish-Taylor is the Director of Nursing at Vintage Place Assisted Living. She is a RN with 9 years long term care experience, experience in critical care as well as hospice setting. Shanna is currently working on her master’s degree towards obtaining her ANRP. For more information on Shanna or Vintage Place please call 620-231-4554.
Senior Living
2011-02-01 14:24:00
Pricing structures
Question: I have been calling around looking for an assisted living home for my father who is unable to live alone any longer. However, I am finding that the pricing structures vary, and frankly, a bit confusing. This makes it difficult to plan finances accordingly, or even know if the ones that seem to be what we can manage actually are in a reasonable price range. Can you give me an idea of how the pricing structures work and what is actually included?
Answer: I understand your confusion! The different pricing options do make it very difficult to compare costs or be certain what is included in the fees. I will try to help clear things up as much as possible. Some assisted living facilities offer an “all inclusive” or a bundled rate that includes all of the major points of service that a facility offers, such as room, food, utilities (excluding phone services), and housekeeping. Others break out the pricing based on the service and level of care. Additional Charges: Ask each facility how additional charges are incurred under their quoted price to you, and ask for a price list of those charges and services. Generally, additional charges are incurred for levels of care. A resident that needs help bathing might be a level one, where a resident with Alzheimer’s would require much more care and therefore, on a higher fee structure. What’s Not Included: Always ask what is not included, even and perhaps especially in all-inclusive rates. All-inclusive for one facility may mean room, food, utilities, and personal assistance, but only includes two meals a day. In others, transportation to doctor’s appointments may be an additional charge. In the majority of cases, the family provides the resident with necessary toiletry supplies and they are not included in the price. Once you have the actual figures on what a facility charges, then you can estimate any additional charges, if the facility charges for levels of care, based on the needs of your loved one.
 
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