People looking into long term care insurance for the first time, often have a lot of basic questions, such as What Is long term care insurance?
Below, I have provided you the answers to some of the more common questions. Once you have read these, I encourage you to call me with any other questions you have, or to get your own long term care insurance process underway.
- What Is Long Term Care Insurance?
- Who Needs It?
- The Consequences of Living Without
- The Benefits
- Long Term Care Insurance Plans
What Is Long Term Care Insurance?
Long term care insurance is a policy that pays out benefits for long term care needs. The necessity for long term care could result from a temporary illness or injury, or something permanent like a stroke, Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. Benefits are triggered either by one’s inability to perform normal activities of daily living (bathing, transferring, dressing, toileting, eating or continence), or by cognitive impairment (significant problems with memory, perception, problem solving or conceptualization).
It’s common for us to take our health, and our ability to complete our activities of daily living, for granted, and as such almost everyone believes that the chances of ending up in a nursing home are remote. While this is true, it’s important to remember, however, that although long term care insurance does cover you during nursing home stays, it will also cover any care needed at home, or in any other facility (such as assisted living facilities or in adult day care centers).
There are an estimated 13 million people in the United States alone that require long term care to function daily. Over 40% of Americans aged 65 and older have spent at least some time in a nursing home. Far more spend a significant amount of time getting care at home. Although we hope you never need long term care, your risk is much greater than you realize and the financial consequences on yourself, your family, and your retirement portfolio can be catastrophic.
Who Needs It?
Everyone knows that the sooner you begin planning for retirement, the better. Long term care insurance should be an integral part of everyone’s retirement plan.
It is true that you may never need long term care, but the consequences of that need could be devastating. If you believe you will live a long life, there is a great possibility that you will need some sort of care, and that cost of care could financially and emotionally devastate your family.
It’s important to know that it is never too early to start your long term care planning, it can only be too late. That’s why it is important to set up your coverage now so that you know you are covered regardless of the future.
Long term care insurance isn’t just for individuals! We can put together a plan for your small or medium sized business, many times with simplified underwriting. Unlike other insurances, executive plans may be carved out to protect as few as three individual lives.
The Consequences of Living Without
Long term care can be incredibly expensive – it can be overwhelming for most. Pure custodial care (the type of care most people in nursing homes require) is not covered by Medicare, or any other insurance policies.
One year in a nursing home can cost in excess of $120,000. The average cost of staying in an assisted living facility can cost almost half that amount. Home health care can be equally as expensive, depending on the amount of in-home hours needed. A proper long term care insurance plan will cover all venues of care, including in-home care, which is typically most desired.
You could rely on your family to take care of you, but to what emotional and financial cost to them. Most caregivers are adult children, who often have children of their own to raise. Caring for an aging parent can cost travel expenses and lost income when they have to take time off from work. Many familial caregivers often fall ill themselves while in the process of caring for a loved one. If mounting long term care costs are part of the equation, families can truly be torn apart over their inability to pay for a loved one’s coverage.
The Benefits
With long term care insurance in place, you can feel confident that your needs will be taken care of, your independence maintained, and your retirement portfolio left intact. Best of all, your family will be free to supervise your care, rather than provide it. A properly designed long term care program will have inflation built in to allow benefits to increase on an annual basis.
Should you ever need to make a claim, you get to decide where, when, and how you receive your care. If you prefer to stay at home, you have the option of choosing an agency, certified in-home caregiver, or in some cases, much more flexibility such as a friend or family member.
Long Term Care Insurance Plans
It takes time and a great attention to detail to determine what type of policy is perfect for you. We start by interacting with our clients to assess their specific needs, concerns and desires. As such, every policy is as individual as our clients themselves. No two plans are ever exactly the same.
The Long Term Care Advantage represents nine long term care providers. Within those providers are New York State Partnership plans, flexible reimbursement plans and cash benefit plans. A no obligation consultation can determine the right plan for you.