Is Insurance for Long-Term Care Needed?
As medical advances extend our definition of “old age”, the weaknesses and the medical problems of aging become increasingly important to ask, is long-term care insurance necessary? With the rising costs of health care, the need for this coverage may seem a moot point. By contrast, the need for a safe LTC does not apply to everyone.
Is long-term care insurance necessary for you? The answer to this question depends on your own personal risk factors and their current and projected financial situation. Here’s how to know if you need long-term care insurance.
Five reasons to consider LTC Insurance
1. The longer I live, the more likely that you need long-term care.
The National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care estimates that, on average, 60 percent of all people who live to age 65 will need long-term care. This care encompasses a wide range of medical and nonmedical services, which are provided to people who can not perform activities of daily living. The need for long-term care is a natural progression of aging.
2. Most health insurance plans do not cover Disability and Long Term Care
LTC insurance coverage begins where health insurance and disability insurance end. Very few health care plans include coverage for extended care outside a hospital. Medicare benefits, on the other hand, only refer to specialist care, while Medicaid has strict requirements regarding who can qualify for LTC coverage. To qualify for Medicaid, for example, you and your spouse have to “spend” almost all of your assets.
3. It is designed to protect your savings and investments
The cost of long-term care can be financially draining. The annual cost of a nursing home runs in the tens of thousands – and counting. According to the annual benchmark study by Genworth Financial, the 2007 annual average cost of a room in a nursing home was estimated at $ 74,806. This cost is expected to more than triple by 2030.
4. It expands the number of care options available to youWith Medicare, you do not have much to say in the quality of care you receive, to say nothing of the facility that will receive it. What’s more, some long-term care facilities do not accept Medicare, which further limits their options. LTC Having insurance gives you greater control over decisions on the type of care they receive, and where it will be received.
5. Care insurance helps to ensure the independence and dignity
There is a safety in the knowledge that you can afford the necessary care when needed. It also produces a certain degree of independence. You will not be a financial burden on your family or staff, relieving your family of having to provide this care or pay for it.
Five factors affecting the need for LTC coverage
1. The medical history of your family
If conditions or chronic medical conditions in your family, you are at a higher risk of needing long-term care. These conditions include Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or stroke.
2. Your marital status and parents
Having a spouse, children, and/or adults who may be able to provide informal care at home. However, if family members can not provide these services, a nursing home or other assisted living facility is usually the only option.
3. His genre
Women not only have a longer life expectancy than men, but they also tend to marry older men. This puts them at a relatively high risk of having to pay for long-term care.
4. Your age
Longevity brings with it an increased risk of needing long-term care. The longer I live, the more likely that the effects of aging can steal the ability to perform basic activities of daily living.
5. His net worth
The richer you are, the more likely it is that you can pay for your own long-term care; the poorer you are, the easier it will be for you to qualify for Medicaid. At both ends, LTC insurance is less necessary.
In the middle are those who can not pay for long-term care without serious financial consequences, but can afford to pay the premiums for LTC insurance. If this is you, LTC insurance is an ideal tool to meet your long-term care, while securing your financial future.
Is the Lnsurance necessary for you?
Although it is the most efficient and cost-effective way to pay for long-term care, the need for secure long-term care is very subjective and depends on your individual situation. This decision, however, is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make when planning for your twilight years.
