Senior Living: What Is Lifecare?

If you’ve begun researching independent living communities, it’s likely you’ve come across various terms describing the benefits of different types of communities and contracts. 

A life plan community, also called a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), is a senior living community “where independent living, assisted living, memory care, and nursing home care are found on the same campus,” according to LeadingAge, the national association for not-for-profit senior living communities.  

Lifecare is a type of contract, sometimes referred to as lifecare type A. It’s considered the gold standard for health care services in senior living. Lifecare assures you that if you ever need additional care (like assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing), you’ll receive these on-site services at about the same monthly fee you pay in independent living. 

Woodland Pond at New Paltz offers both. We’re a life plan community that offers lifecare as an add-on option for independent living community residents. 

Benefits of lifecare

Our lifecare option is just one of the features that makes Woodland Pond at New Paltz unique. We’re the only CCRC in the Mid-Hudson Valley to offer lifecare – New York’s most secure retirement plan.

When you choose lifecare, you benefit from: 

• Peace of mind: Your future potential long-term health care needs will be taken care of 
• Financial stability and predictability: You know exactly how much you’ll pay for long-term health care services 
• Asset protection: You’ve locked in your healthcare costs at today’s rates — your assets are protected against market fluctuations and rising healthcare costs 

If you choose an independent living contract without lifecare at Woodland Pond, you’ll still be guaranteed lifetime residency with access to continuing care if your needs change in the future. The difference is that the rate you’ll pay for higher levels of care will be based on market rates at the time you need it.* Lifecare eliminates all the “what ifs” and offers the opportunity to pay an upfront fee in exchange for guaranteed care at predictable rates for life. During unpredictable economic times, this predictability provides residence at our residential living community peace of mind. 

How lifecare works at Woodland Pond at New Paltz

Lifecare is an additional one-time fee that guarantees unlimited, on-site long-term health care services, including private enriched housing (assisted living), memory care suites, and skilled nursing care with private accommodations for as long as needed while maintaining your current independent living service fee — with just a slight increase for two extra meals per day — that’s it! The lifecare rate is currently $134,531 for one person or $199,106 for a couple. 

With health care costs continuing to rise in today’s economy, many of our residents find value in protecting themselves from future inflation and increased costs. Since 2000, health care costs have increased 109.2%, according to Peterson-KFF, a nonprofit partnership that analyzes quality and costs in health care. Do you think health care costs will continue to rise over the next 5 or 10 years? 

Considering a move? Compare your costs of living with independent living communities

As the newest and only lifecare community in the Mid-Hudson Valley, Woodland Pond at New Paltz has a wide variety of services and amenities in addition to the highest-rated health care services, should you ever need them. 

With lifecare, you can count on high-quality care, right where you live, at predictable rates for the rest of your life, and you’ll be paying far less for these services than you would without lifecare. You’ll always know where to find the best care, who will provide it, and how much it will cost. 

Take a look at our cost comparison worksheet to compare the expenses of homeownership with the cost of independent living communities like Woodland Pond at New Paltz.

*Non-lifecare contracts include 60 cumulative lifetime days of skilled nursing care and 30 cumulative lifetime days of enriched housing care with no additional increase.