Michigan Couple Spends $120,000 on Memory Care for Father with Dementia
A Michigan man and his wife built a home for his father with dementia before moving him to a private memory-care facility, ultimately paying about $120,000 out of pocket over three years.
John Nuar, 34, and his wife constructed a house in Canton, Michigan, to accommodate his father, who began showing early memory loss in 2015. After moving the father in late 2017, the couple monitored his health and safety with cameras and remote door controls while both worked full-time. By early 2019, repeated wandering incidents and the father’s inability to drive prompted the family to seek alternative care.
Attempts to qualify for Michigan’s voucher program and the PACE program were unsuccessful, and private-pay nursing homes were either unaffordable or lacked Medicaid beds. In the summer of 2019, the father was placed with relatives in Virginia, where he received home care for two years before being transferred back to Michigan for private memory-care placement.
The memory-care facility, which offered incentives during the pandemic, charged $4,200 per month initially, rising to $6,600 as his care needs increased. Additional expenses included a $175 monthly wheelchair rental and a $326 Medicare supplement. Over the three-year stay, the couple paid roughly $120,000 out of pocket, while their incomes grew and they avoided drawing on savings.
Nuar emphasized the importance of maximizing health-savings accounts for long-term care costs and having advanced directives and wills in place. He noted that, despite the financial strain, he would not change the decisions made for his father's care.
