Lorraine Mueller settled into her assisted-living apartment in West Seneca a little more than a week ago, but it certainly feels like home.

While Mueller recovering in rehab from a recent fall at home, her five daughters readied her new ElderWood home, lining the window sill with plants and arranging her collection of delicate teacups just so.

“I wasn’t worried about coming to assisted living. I knew I needed more help,” she said. “The only thing I worried about was the finances.”

Though the move away from home to an assisted living or skilled nursing facility is still an emotional one for seniors and their children, advances in medical and custodial care delivery are making the switch a bit easier. Elder care culture has seen sweeping changes, thanks in part to consumer demands put on the industry by aging baby boomers.

Senior housing, once institutional and depressing, now boasts wide-screen plasma TVs, Wii tournaments and Internet hookups in every room. Dining rooms have white linen table cloths and extensive menu options.

“We call it the cruise ship that never sets sail,” said Mimi Piciullo, residential sales manager at ElderWood.

But all those improvements are expensive. And costs are rising.

In Western New York, elder care consumers can easily burn through $50,000 for one year at an assisted living facility or $80,000 for one year of nursing home care.

“You’re talking about a lot of money. That’s why education is so important,” said Michael Helbringer, president of the Bristol Homes assisted living facilities. “There is a lot of information to navigate and it can be extremely overwhelming.”

And if consumers don’t begin doing their homework soon enough, they can be left to the mercy of the system. “When someone is hospitalized, they often have just days to find a place to go once they’re discharged,” said Cheryl Carr, a consultant and spokeswoman for the Western New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, a group of nearly 70 local non-profit elder care services providers. “You don’t want to wait until you’re in a crisis to start learning and making decisions.”

Here are some of the basics from local experts to get you started:

Your first and most vital tasks are to designate a health care proxy and a power of attorney. It’s every elder care planner’s first piece of advice, but it’s also the most important, so it’s worth repeating here. A health care proxy is a person you designate to relay your health care decisions in the event you’re unable to communicate. A power of attorney is someone designated to handle your financial affairs. You’ll want to choose both carefully.

For help, visit

www.SharingYourWishes.org

, where you’ll find instructions, helpful information and printable forms for designating a proxy and recording your wishes.

Military veterans should look into the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension (

www.VeteransAidBenefit.org

). It provides financial support to qualifying veterans, their spouses and widows who need help with activities of daily living, such as bathing, preparing meals and managing medications.

To qualify, applicants must have served at least 90 days in the military with at least one day during declared war time, have less than $80,000 in liquid assets not including a home and car, and have an income falling within certain guidelines after medical expenses are deducted. (Assisted housing is considered a medical expense). The financial awards are substantial: up to $1,644 for the veteran, $1,056 for the spouse or $1,949 for both veteran and spouse. Call the Veterans’ Administration Health Benefits Service Center at (877) 222-8387 or go to

www.va.gov/elig

for more information on additional veteran elder care benefits.

Some residents are forced to leave

Elder care planning should include what to do when the money runs out. The average stay in an assisted living facility is roughly two to three years, skilled nursing stays are usually shorter.

If resources run out beyond that time frame, what will happen? Some facilities have non-profit, subsidized units for residents transitioning to government assistance such as Medicaid. Others force residents to leave when funds dry up.

In most cases, assisted living will lead to skilled nursing care. Where will the elder go? How much will it cost? Where will the money come from?

Elders who meet certain income restrictions can qualify for federally subsidized housing. Low or moderate-income residents can choose from public or government-subsidized facilities with the help of several government programs. Call (800) 333-4636 or visit

www.hud.gov/groups/seniors.cfm

. Long-term care insurance is generally applied to nursing home or adult care facilities, but some policies also cover home health care, respite care and adult day care services.

Policies are complicated and vary depending on each policy holder’s situation. So the bottom line is that it’s best to splurge on a lawyer or financial planner to help you decide whether a plan is right for you.

The New York Partnership for Long Term Care combines long-term care insurance and Medicaid extended care, allowing consumers to protect their assets if their care needs exceed what is covered in their private policy.

Call (888) 697-7582 or visit

www.nyspltc.org

for more information. Another rule of thumb — long-term care policies should cost no more than seven percent of the policy holder’s income.

Contrary to popular belief, Medicare generally does not pay for long-term care.

“There is a big misperception of what Medicare will cover,” Helbringer said.

It does not pay for non-skilled or custodial care — the kind of help with daily living you might find at assisted living facilities such as bathing or dressing. It pays for medically necessary care that might be provided in a nursing home, hospital, doctor’s office or under medical supervision at home.

Medicare will pay for just the first 20 days of medically necessary care in a nursing home. It will pay for part of the next 80 days; you’ll pay a co-payment for the same period. Hospice services are covered, however.

Call (800) 633-4227 or visit

www.medicare.gov

. Medicaid can help pay for medical and custodial care — including adult day care and home health care — once all other resources have been exhausted.

Call (800) 541-2831 or visit

www.health.state.ny

. us/health_care/medicaid/program/longterm. Those who are 65 or older and meet low-income requirements can qualify for Supplemental Security Income through the Social Security Administration. It offers supplemental financial aid toward adult care facilities and housing and can be used in conjunction with Medicaid and other government programs.

To find out if you qualify, call (800) 772-1213 or use the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool at

www.connections.govbenefits.gov/ssa_en.portal

. You can also visit

www.ssa.gov

. More helpful resources

Have no idea where to begin? Start with NY Connects. Funded by the New York State Office for the Aging, NY Connects is a one-stop shop for longterm care information. Each county has its own NY Connects branch with specialized information on services available locally. Whether you’re looking for housing, meal delivery, insurance information or transportation, your county’s NY Connects office can help you find it.

Or maybe you don’t know what you need. Contact the office, tell them your problem, and they’ll find a service to address it.

To find your county’s contact information, call the hotline at (800) 342-9871 or visit

www.nyconnects.org

. In Erie County, NY Connects will lead you to the Erie County Department of Senior Services. Call 858-8526 or visit

www.erie.gov/depts/senior

services.

Search for government-provided elder care services in your neighborhood — such as medical, legal, financial and daily living — using the Eldercare Locator from the Administration on Aging. Call (800) 677-1116 or visit

www.Eldercare.gov

.

A local resource with helpful articles and links to local services for elders and caregivers is

www.WNYSeniorCare.org

. It also contains a senior care assessment tool, an interactive quiz about the elder’s self-care abilities. Depending on the answers chosen, the test-taker’s score will return a recommendation as to whether the senior needs care, what type of care they need, and a list of providers tailored to those needs.

Sister site

www.WNYAHSA.org

includes links to localized resources on long-term care and housing, home health care and other senior care information.

The Erie County Caregiver Coalition is a clearinghouse for local services and providers. Visit

www.ErieCountyCaregiver.org

.

For help choosing among available skilled nursing facilities, use Nursing Home Compare, an online tool offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Visit

www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/home.asp

.

Other steps to help aging relatives

If you dont’ want to take over aging relatives personal finances altogether, family members can take steps to start helping:

Help simplify matters by setting up direct deposits for income like Social Security and pensions, and automatic bill payment for recurring expenses.

Minimize the number of accounts they have to keep track of.

Set up a regular meeting with your relative to review what he or she has done.

Hire a daily money manager or contact AARP to find out if your relative qualifies for free volunteer help.

Arrange for duplicate bank and bill statements so you can track income and spending.