If you don’t already have a plan, it is not too late, but options that require good health to start, CCRCs, LPCs, and long-term care insurance, aren’t available. Depending on what’s slowing you down, you have three options:

1. A spouse, family, or friends to help you as much as you need, usually unpaid.

2. Paid help at home, usually an hourly rate that climbs with the amount and type of help.

3. Move to a facility structured to help you, costs are usually bundled monthly or daily.

Option 1 – is realistic if you have a plan in place to rely on a spouse, local family caregiver(s), or to move in with a primary caregiver. But that will burden the primary caregiver, and they will need support. The NIA is a good place to learn about respite care for primary caregivers, and programs to help in specific situations. The U.S. Administration on Aging’s Eldercare Locator navigates federal, state, and country programs to help caregivers and their care recipients.

Option 2 – paid help is always local. Genworth provides an interactive tool to sort by amount, type, state, and city. Medicare can help you find and compare nearby home health agencies. Ask people about them and visit them if possible.

a) Assisted living –supports activities of daily living, ADLs and IADLs. It is an affordable way to get non-medical help.

b) Nursing homes and long-term care hospitals – are for people who can’t stay at home and need 24-hour medical care.

c) Memory care facilities – help people with degenerative dementias like Alzheimer’s.

d) End of Life Care – with palliative (pain-managed life care) and hospice (end-of-life care).