FAQ's 

Long Term Care                                                                                     

Long Term Care Insurance: Is It Necessary?

Myth:
I don't need long-term care insurance because the government will pay for my care should I ever need it.

Reality:
Medicaid, the government's long-term care program for low-income Americans, only kicks in after your own assets are significantly depleted and there's little left over for your spouse or family. Relying on Medicaid may also make it harder to find the type of care or facility that's most convenient for you.

Long-Term Care Insurance is still fairly new on the market and a lot of people don't know that it even exists or what it covers. Even those who have heard the term don't know always when benefits are paid, how they are designed, and who qualifies or needs coverage. Many people don't think about this type of coverage until it is too late to get a great rate and higher benefits. They wait until they are past retirement age and closer to needing to cash in the benefits instead of investing earlier and maximizing your options.

It is becoming more of a common practice for people to start thinking about what will happen 30 -50 or more years ahead. Many people invest in 401Ks, IRAs, stocks and bond, and other types of investments to prepare for the future. Many people think this will pay for living expenses and leisure activities once retired. Things don't always go according as planned or expected.

What happens in the unfortunate incidence of an accident and you need help with your daily living activities? Or, you get to a point in your elder years that you require home care. You may decide you would rather live in you home for a long as possible and would need to have enough for personal home care. Some seniors enjoy assisted living facilities that provide 24 hour nursing care, but still let you be as independent as you can. There are also those unfortunate instances where nursing home facilities are needed to tend to varying degrees of illness. Long-term care is designed to provide you help with these services due to a long-term illness or disability. The average cost of these types of care can cost around $40,000-100,000 per year and sometimes more. It is a very quick way to eat your saving and social security benefits. If you think Medicaid or Medicare will help, think again. Even if and when you qualify, your saving is now gone and they will only pay up to 50% of the cost, someone has to come up with the rest. Long-Term Care insurance can help with these costs in the unfortunate event you require nursing care.

Who should consider Long Term Care Insurance? If you think you will not qualify for Medicaid or full Medicare benefits due to a large saving, assets, or high income, this is a program for you. You do not want to end up having your children pay for these expenses while you have to have them and possibly well after your death. It will keep you able to leave your loved ones a little something instead of sucking all your assets dry. Also if you can afford to pay the premiums you will likely not qualify for assistance so would truly benefit. If you currently have chronic health issues or have a family history of a long-term illness you would be off purchasing now than waiting.

 If you think at any point you might fall into any of the categories you might want to consider getting a plan earlier to be safe and covered. You can purchase a policy from most large insurance companies. As always, every state has different insurance regulations, therefore it is best to check with your state on specific determining factors and qualifications.

This coverage will help provide nursing-home care, home-health care, personal or adult day care usually for individuals above the age of 65 or with a chronic or disabling condition that needs constant supervision. LTC insurance offers more flexibility and options than many public assistance programs. Long-term care is usually very expensive, which is why most people need insurance. For example; on average, nursing facilities providing skilled care charge $150 to $300 per day, or over $80,000 a year or more. Even custodial home care at three visits per week, can cost over $9,000 a year.

Who Needs It?

If you can afford long-term care insurance, you should probably consider it. Why? Because the cost of long-term care, should you need it, can quickly deplete your life's savings. For instance, having a home health aide visit just three days a week can cost more than $20,000 annually. Full-time nursing home care, the most expensive type of care, can average more than $60,000 per year.

But what are the odds that you'll need these kinds of services? Greater than you might imagine. There's about a 50 percent chance you'll need some type of long-term care after age 65. And long-term care services are not just for older people. A young or middle-aged person who has been in an accident or suffered a debilitating illness may very well require long-term care services. In fact, 40 percent of patients receiving long-term care are under age 65.

While long-term care insurance is right for many people, it's certainly not for everyone. If you can afford to pay for care without significantly impacting your assets, you may not need long-term care insurance. Conversely, if your assets, not including your home, are less than $80,000 if you're married (or $30,000 if you're single), you may not be able to afford the premiums. A good rule of thumb is to spend no more than 7 percent of your gross income on long-term care insurance premiums.

Things to Consider: 

The average daily cost of nursing home care, and the hourly cost of home health care, for metropolitan areas varies but is consistently costly in all 50 states. But really, the question isn't always can you afford to have long-term insurance - it's can you afford not to.

Long-term care insurance pays for a wide range of services and procedures that typically aren't covered by a person's medical insurance. The types of care fall into three categories: skilled, intermediate and custodial.

Skilled Care: If you have a serious illness or injury that you can recover from, you will probably receive skilled care from nurses or professional therapists. Skilled care is provided daily, usually ordered by a physician, and involves a treatment plan. In short, skilled care helps get you better

Intermediate Care: This type of care is the same as skilled care, but not provided on a daily basis. For instance, if you injured your leg and need to visit a physical therapist five times a week to help you heal, that would be considered intermediate care.

Custodial Care: Unlike skilled and intermediate care, which is used to improve your health, custodial care isn't intended to get you better. Instead, custodial care includes assistance with daily activities like bathing, eating, dressing, toileting (getting on and off the toilet and other tasks associated with personal hygiene), continence and transferring (getting in and out of bed and chairs). Catheter or colostomy drains are other examples of custodial care. Custodial care can range from in-home care provided two or three days a week, to 24-hour nursing home care.

Where Is Care Delivered?

Many people mistakenly think long-term care is synonymous with nursing home care. A nursing home is a good example of a facility that provides long-term care services, but it's just one of the many settings in which long-term care is delivered. In many cases, care is provided in the home often by a visiting nurse or a home health aide. Long-term care services are also provided in places like assisted living facilities and adult day care centers. Because long-term care insurance policies may differ in what they cover, it's important to be familiar with the different locations where you can receive care. Below we describe the four settings in which most long-term care is delivered.

Nursing Homes
Nursing homes are dedicated facilities that provide comprehensive long-term care services. Though they primarily serve the elderly, nursing homes will provide care to people of all ages who are in need of extended long-term care services. The goal of care in a nursing facility is to help individuals meet their daily physical, social, medical, and psychological needs in a controlled setting.

Nursing homes generally provide around-the-clock care and may offer medical, rehabilitative, personal and residential services. But all this care comes at a price: nursing homes currently average more than $60,000 per year, and that cost can more than double in certain regions. Prices and services often vary by location and facility, so it pays to shop around for the facility that meets your needs and budget.

Assisted Living Facilities
Assisted living facilities are residential centers that provide continued care for those unable to perform certain daily living activities. These facilities, which are growing in popularity, generally offer personal services, 24-hour supervision and assistance, recreational activities, and health-related services. They are designed to minimize the need to move around, and typically provide residents with more privacy and independence than a nursing home setting.

Adult Day Care
Adult day care centers are community-based programs designed to meet the needs of functionally or cognitively impaired adults. These structured, comprehensive programs provide a variety of health, social, and other related support services in a protective setting during daytime hours.

Most programs operate during the week, and can be attended full or part-time. Some programs offer services in the evenings and on weekends.

Home Care
Home care is a simple phrase that encompasses a wide range of health and social services delivered at home to recovering, disabled, chronically ill or terminally ill persons. These services may include medical, nursing, social, or therapeutic treatment, assistance with essential activities of daily living, and even light household needs, such as shopping and cooking.

Generally, home care is appropriate whenever a person prefers to stay at home but needs ongoing care that cannot easily or effectively be provided solely by family and friends. More and more seniors, electing to live independent, non-institutionalized lives, are receiving home care services as their physical capabilities diminish. It's also a popular choice for younger adults and children coping with chronic conditions or disabilities.

For more information or to get a quote, fill out my online long term care quote form. This could be one of the best decisions you'll make in your lifetime, a health insurance plan few people think about until it really is too late. Let me help you plan ahead for a future you feel good taking care of now.

Always feel free to contact me by e-mail or phone on my "Contact" page.