What will attending Old Friends Club Cost and will insurance cover it?
You may also want to see our associated Cost & Insurance FAQ on our main OFC FAQ page where we cover these topics and we'll also touch on them in this blog post:
What does it cost?
Do you take Long Term Care insurance?
Does Medicare or Medicaid pay for this?
How is OFC funded?
We've heard about the rising cost of healthcare and may have even experienced it ourselves. "Aging in place" is a term used to describe folks who are trying their best to take care of themselves at home with friends and family for as long as they can to help defray some of those healthcare costs. But even in-home care locally can run close to between $30-35 per hour. At Old Friends Club, we know all too well the struggles families have balancing budgets, paying their bills, and sometimes choosing between rent and healthcare.
What does it cost?
Old Friends Club offers a cost effective option for consideration with significant benefits beyond in-home care. We offer a couple different monthly options based on the number of days per week the member would like to attend a club:
$550/month for 2 days/week
$725/month for 3 days/week
The cost averages less than $14/hour which is less than half the cost of the same hours of in-home care. And, at the Club, the member gets out of the house, engages with others, and participates in various activities geared towards their interests and abilities.
We talked about forming a habit of attending in "What caregivers should know about getting the most out of old friends club adult day program" and we do encourage attendance at the Club at least twice weekly. This is crucial to allow Members to establish a routine, as well as build trust and comfort with staff and fellow Members. We consistently see Members engage more successfully when they join the group more often than once a week. This gives their family members more time too.
Do you take Long Term Care insurance?
We work with you and Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance companies to obtain coverage. We provide a high level outline in our Cost & Insurance FAQ on what you can expect and if this is a consideration for you, we encourage you to contact us (Welcome@OldFriendsClub.org) to get the process started as it can take time to get everything in place. Even then, there is usually a period where you will have to pay for services before the benefits start. It may sound confusing, but we've done this before and we're here to help.
Does Medicare or Medicaid pay for this?
This is a very common question and we wish there was a better answer. At this time, Medicare does not pay for this kind of care. We think it should and if you think it should too, we encourage you to contact your local government representatives to let them know.
Medicaid, on the other hand, "can" pay for this type of care. However, we've found that the reimbursement is quite low and the paperwork burden is very high that it doesn't makes sense to do. For this reason Old Friends Club has chosen not to pursue Medicaid contracts at this time.
We have not turned anyone away who cannot afford the fees. Cost should not be a barrier to using our service. Please contact us and we can work within your means to join Old Friends Club. It's that important for you and your loved one. We want to help.
How is OFC funded?
Funds generally come from three primary sources in about these proportions:
70% - Old Friends Club membership program fees
15% - Grants
15% - Individual donations
The membership fees are only about 70% because a portion of the members are paying less than our stated monthly fees. We understand that healthcare costs are high and many of our members are paying other bills while on limited income. Our adult day care program provides so many benefits we feel it's important to ensure families can join OFC regardless of their financial means.
We, of course, would like more funding to come from our membership fees because that means we're serving more families. It is also the most sustainable in the long-term and would allow us to attract and retain the skilled staff with competitive salaries.
We have an ever growing need to fill and maintain skilled, paid, staff positions which includes our amazing Program Coordinators and Program Assistants who make each Old Friends Club location unique, fun, and vibrant. We also have folks that keep our operations afloat and help with membership, caregiver support, grants, fundraising, volunteers, staffing, training, etc.
We're also always looking for volunteers! If you are interested, fill out our Contact OFC form and let us know about your interest.
Do you know a family who might benefit from joining Old Friends Club? Share this blog post, our OFC Facebook page, and our OFC website with them. They can contact us by phone or on our Old Friends Club Contact Us page.
Search for frequently asked questions at our OFC FAQ page.
Meet our Program Coordinators or checkout our the Available Jobs at OFC.