Long-Term Care
Long-term care insurance provides funding that helps pay
the cost of a stay in a nursing home, assisted-care living
facility, adult day care center or care in your own home
if you are unable to care for yourself. Medicare and regular
health insurance do not cover long-term
care. A study conducted in 1987 showed that Medicare paid
for less than 2% of the costs and private insurance paid
for even less. Medicaid paid for 42% of the expenses, and
the patient or his or her family paid over one-half of these
costs.
A long-term care insurance policy can help you remain independent
and, should you need long-term care, ensure that you can
choose the type of care you receive. If you have assets
to protect, your long-term care insurance policy can help
keep them from being used to pay for long-term care.
Recent studies based on nursing home admissions indicate
that 40% of all persons age 65 and over will enter a nursing
home in the future.
You qualify for benefits when you have a cognitive impairment
or you need substantial assistance with two or more of the
Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s): bathing, maintaining
continence, dressing, eating, toileting and transferring
from bed to chair.
Significant discounts are available for married couples
and for any two people who reside in the same household.
When buying a long-term care policy, you should compare
offerings from at least two companies, choosing features
you want and keeping premiums affordable. Some things to
keep in mind when shopping for a policy are:
HOME CARE - Most policies offer this option
because care is often provided outside of institutions.
Home care benefits, which cover skilled care from nurses
and therapists as well as personal care from health aides
and housekeepers, are particularly useful for couples.
BENEFIT AMOUNT - Most long-term care insurance
policies are structured with what is referred to as a daily
maximum that will be paid for care services. You choose
your daily amount when you purchase the policy. One way
to lower your premiums is to purchase a benefit amount that
is slightly lower than the daily cost of a nursing home
care, which is approximately $150 per day.
BENEFIT PERIOD - Many companies offer lifetime
benefits, but keep in mind the chances of needing long-term
care for more than five years are relatively small. For
most people, a policy covering three to five years will
be more cost-effective.
ELIMINATION PERIOD - This is how long you
must wait after qualifying for benefits before your coverage
kicks in. The longer you wait - and pay for care out of
pocket - the lower your premiums.
INFLATION PROTECTION - This feature is
recommended otherwise your fixed daily benefit will cover
a smaller and smaller portion of the cost of care as the
years pass. The best choice is one that increases your benefit
amount by 5% annually.
Please contact our office for more information.
