How Can You Reduce Nursing Home Costs?

Placing your parents in a nursing home is a difficult decision. The cost, in particular, is a concern for many families. For example, one family who placed their father, in his late 80s, in a nursing home initially had to pay around 2.8 million KRW per month for the first two months. This was because he didn't have a long-term care grade, so he couldn't receive support from the Long-Term Care Insurance. However, after his father received Long-Term Care Grade 2, the monthly bill dropped to about 950,000 KRW. Why such a difference?

The Importance of Long-Term Care Grades

Without a long-term care grade, the Long-Term Care Insurance doesn't apply to nursing home fees, meaning the resident has to bear the full cost. However, once you receive a long-term care grade, you generally only need to pay a 20% co-payment. For instance, if an individual with Grade 2 stays at a nursing home costing 86,340 KRW per day for 30 days, their actual co-payment would be approximately 518,040 KRW. Simply obtaining a grade can significantly reduce nursing home expenses.

Insurance Support and Co-payment Reductions

With a long-term care grade, you are responsible for only 20% of the basic service fee through insurance support. Furthermore, if your income or assets fall below a certain threshold, the National Health Insurance Service can reduce your co-payment by 40% or even 60%. For example, if an individual with Grade 2 stayed for 30 days and the pre-reduction co-payment was 518,040 KRW, a 40% reduction would bring it down to 310,824 KRW, and a 60% reduction would mean paying only 207,216 KRW. This is how costs can be managed.

Things to Check Before Signing a Contract

However, just because nursing home costs are reduced doesn't mean all expenses decrease. Meal costs are billed separately and are not covered by insurance, so you must confirm the total amount payable per month before signing the contract. Key items to check include:

• Total monthly cost after insurance application
• Daily basic service fee and co-payment rate
• Meal and snack costs
• Additional fees for single or double rooms
• Separate expenses such as hairdressing fees

Checking these details carefully will give you a more accurate estimate of your actual monthly expenses.

In Conclusion

Obtaining a long-term care grade is the first step to reducing nursing home costs. However, the grade alone doesn't determine all expenses, so it's crucial to verify eligibility for facility care, potential reductions, and any costs outside of insurance coverage. Nursing hospitals are medical institutions covered by the National Health Insurance, not the Long-Term Care Insurance, so their billing methods differ, requiring careful attention. Next time, we'll explore how to distinguish reliable nursing homes among those offering similar costs.