HOW TO SHOP FOR A CCRC
Know who you’re shopping for.
Yourself? Parents? In-law? Sibling? The more thorough your understanding, the more likely you are
to find a good lifetime match. If the process feels like a dating service, well, it is one, and mighty
important, too.
1. Understand your trade-offs.
Just about any senior or senior couple can be good candidates for a CCRC (continuing care retirement
community), if they:
• Want a beautiful, comfortable, upkeep-free place to live
• Want the freedom to maintain their productive lives
• Want to complete and/or launch projects or ventures
• Want friends as well as privacy at hand
• Want to secure future health care for themselves
• Want to protect their family from ballooning health care costs
• Can afford the community entrance fee and regular monthly fees
2. Shop well in advance.
Some 70% of Americans 65 and older will need long-term care1 at some point. To enjoy life while
you save money and possibly your health, the smart plan is to move to a CCRC and make the most
of your healthy, active life. Surrounded by other vital, purpose-driven seniors, you tap into new sources
of positive energy. If you reach the point when you do need long-term care, you’ve already made all
your decisions, you know your caregivers, and you can avoid (expensive) crisis and confusion.
3. Shop to stay healthy.
Look for a wellness program that’s more than low-fat cheese and Sit/Fit classes. Perhaps more than
any other time of life, this is the time when wellness equates directly with happiness. You want a
CCRC with an authentic wellness program that’s dynamic and creative enough to keep you interested.
For life.
1
www.LongTermCare.gov, from the US Dept of Health & Human Services
4. Shop for a solid team.
Start with the residency counselor on your visit. Does the counselor know and greet the residents by
name? Is the counselor clearly part of the community? Do you feel that the counselor is genuinely
interested in you, and in building a friendship with you, or just making a sale? Don’t hesitate to ask
your sales counselor about the residents – and vice versa.
5. Shop for the two of you (when appropriate).
Everyone’s different, and no two people have the same values, goals and needs. So before you begin,
talk it over: What do you need – individually and as a couple – in the way of people, places and
opportunities? Medically, one of the best things about a CCRC is its all-inclusivity – something like a
housing/health care buffet – and when you’re the second half of a pair, your part of the monthly fee
is usually significantly less. The couples’ reduction can be especially marvelous if one of you requires
skilled nursing, even for an extended time, in which case your better half is never too far away, and
the good friends you’ve made since your arrival are all close enough to drop in much more often.
6. Shop for Life Care.
Nearly every CCRC will spell out the levels of care provided – words that are essentially equivalent to
independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory support and respite, with a change in your
health – challenge or recovery – reflecting a change in level. Care levels are delineated because your
monthly charges are the total of your daily care levels.
An increasingly popular alternative is the guaranteed, partially deductible plan that works with insurance.
With Life Care, your health care residency costs remain predictable for life, even if you need long-term
skilled nursing. Your cost will remain well below market-rate skilled care, and your children will have the
peace of mind of knowing that you’re being well cared for.
7. Shop for Not-for-Profit – or not.
Does it matter to you? A not-for-profit reinvests in the community and makes the promise: If your assets
are exhausted due to reasonable and customary means, you won’t be asked to move out.
Next steps
A.Determine what you really want. Golf before breakfast? Four seasons or daily sunshine? A water
view? Narrow it down to the all-important answer: Where do you want to live?
B.Do some homework. List friends who are comfortably settled in places you’d consider. Find all the
CCRCs in the city or area you’ve pinpointed and narrow your list to three to five candidates.
C.Tour. Preferably with lunch. (As this is one of the most important decisions in life – even if you’ve
already decided – do NOT visit just one place.) And bring a family member or friend to help you
assess impressions and confirm answers to your questions (see below).
D.When you visit, introduce yourself to a couple of residents, and ask what life is like, if they’re
happy with their decision and how they got to know their new neighbors. For that matter, was there
help with move-in? And notice what happens when you begin to engage with residents. Does the
residency counselor encourage that interaction?
Do the residents welcome your questions?
E.Ask your accountants to review the CCRC’s financials before making any commitments. Is the fee
increase history reasonable? Does the CCRC accept Medicare/Medicaid? Are there limits? (Make no
assumptions.) Good tools are leadingage.org or seniorshousing.org for Suggested Best Practices
for CCRC Disclosure and Transparency.
Boil it down: questions for before and during
You want to live happily ever after, so before you start visiting communities, be sure about your answers
to these 6 questions:
1. What’s important to you?
2. What’s important to your partner?
3. What’s less than perfect in your current lifestyle?
4. Are you a risk-taker or a planner?
5. How would you handle a health crisis?
6. Do you have a plan for unpredictable health costs?
And for your visit, here’s your checklist:
1. What can they tell you about planned recreational, social, educational and cultural activities? (How tempting is this month’s calendar?)
2. How’s the dining? Restaurant-style? Multiple venues? Terrific lunch?
3. How do you feel about interaction with the residents – and what would you think about them
as neighbors?
4. Does the community provide scheduled transportation for appointments and outings?
5. What’s offered in the way of housekeeping and linen service? And how often?
6. How do they talk about interior and exterior maintenance? (“Spitspot?” to quote Mary Poppins?)
7. Is there 24-hour security with emergency calling?
8. Is the community for-profit or not-for-profit?
100 East Grand Avenue, Suite 200 | Des Moines, IA 50309
515.288.5805 | LifespaceCommunities.com