We received a call last week from Mary, whose dad had been in a CCRC but had since moved out. CCRC is shorthand for continuing care retirement community. The idea of a CCRC is that a family only needs to make one decision about a loved one’s care. That’s because the CCRC provides a continuum of care. They provide independent living, assisted living and nursing home care on the same campus. In theory, once you make a decision to move to a CCRC, you can transition from one setting to the next as your care needs increase. You don’t have to think about looking for an assisted living facility or a nursing home when you need one because they have it all covered.
Sounds pretty straightforward but it often isn’t for reasons I’ve written about in past years here. That’s not to say it isn’t a good option. Like anything, however, it isn’t right for everyone and it does carry some risks to be aware of.
CCRCs typically require an entrance fee which can be as much as $750,000 depending on the facility and the payment option chosen. Usually, the higher the entrance fee the lower the monthly fee and vice versa.
CCRC contracts run over 100 pages. It amazes me how many people don’t read them before committing to the arrangement and paying the entrance fee. Mary said her dad did have an attorney review the contract but it wasn’t clear to me what her dad was told or understood about the arrangement. In any event, it didn’t work and he moved out. I’ll explain more about that next week and why Mary was calling us.