Long Term Care Insurance
Long-term care is hands-on assistance to individuals who need help with Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs. These are routine things like:
- Getting in and out of bed
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Using the toilet
- Eating
- Caring for incontinence
The need for long-term care may arise from injury, illness, or the normal aging process. Today people are living longer, which creates the need for more frequent and longer periods of health care. Family members may live far away, or if nearby, be exhausted by the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of providing personal care for loved ones.
In a best case scenario, you might wish to remain in your home while receiving care for a long-term disability. You will want to hire home health aides to assist with ADLs, and perhaps housekeeping assistance. This prevents your family from bearing the burden of your constant care. If remaining in your home is not an option, you will want to select an assisted living facility or skilled nursing home that suits your preferences for standards of care, location, and other options.
The price of care increases every year. Even if stabilized at 2016 prices, three years in a semi-private room in an Orange County nursing home would cost $278,427. Five years would cost $464,045. If married, you may need that amount for husband and wife—and need to allow for inflation. Do you have a million dollars to spend?
Medicare only provides for 100 days of care in a nursing home, and has no provisions at all for assisted living or home health care. Your state’s Medicaid program requires you to pay for long-term care yourself until you have used up virtually all of your assets. Once you have reached the poverty level, you would be eligible only for those facilities that accept Medicaid—not the most desirable or convenient. If married, you would leave your spouse impoverished.
When you decide to transfer the risk of long-term care costs to an insurer, you will want to meet with a professional who can help you choose the best plan for your situation, at the best price.
We work with top-rated, financially secure carriers that are experienced in providing long-term care insurance. Today’s policies may offer inflation protection, as well as death benefits and return of premiums. Buyers may have the opportunity to purchase policies with IRA monies.
The younger and healthier you are at the time of purchase, the lower the cost of your policy. You will never be younger and healthier than you are today! This is the ideal time to consider likely future costs, and to purchase a policy that will meet your needs.