| "Failure to prepare for
the cost of long-term care is the primary cause of impoverishment
among the elderly." - American
Health Care Association
None of us like to think about
nursing homes, home health care, or any other
type of long-term care in our future. In fact, according
to the American Health Care Association, 76% of people polled
said that they do not expect to need long-term care in the
future. So why focus on it? According to the New England
Journal of Medicine, 43% of Americans who reach age 65 can
expect to spend time in a nursing home - and many of them
will not be prepared for the expense.
Are you prepared?
If you were to suffer an illness or disability that required long-term
medical care, would you be covered? Would your current insurance take
care of the cost for day-in, day-out assistance? Would you be covered
for physical and rehabilitative therapy? For the vast majority of Americans,
the answer is no.
Costs are rising:
Currently, according to information compiled by AARP, it costs up to
an estimated $50,000 per year to live in a nursing home. It is unlikely
that this cost will go down. With better healthcare, research, and
emphasis on diet and exercise, life expectancies are lengthening and
the elderly population is growing.
Common misconceptions:
The three most common misconceptions about long-term care are:
- It will never happen to me
- My family will be able to take care of me
- Medicare will pay for it
Unfortunately, it does happen to many of us and, over the age
of 65, the average length of stay in a nursing home is 2.5 years
and 10% of people stay longer than 5 years. That adds up. Although
family members may wish to take care of one other, this is often
impractical and difficult. Medicare is designed for short-term
hospital stays, not for long-term health care. This is why it
is important to think about what options are available to help
provide for long-term care needs.
What should you do?
There are basically 3 options for an individual faced with paying for
long-term care:
- Use money that has been saved or liquidate assets
- Apply for Medicaid which is available only for those with
very low incomes and few assets
- Use long-term care insurance
Long-term care insurance policies cover nursing home care and
home health care and cover everything from skilled medical care
to daily custodial care. The costs may not be as high as you'd
imagine. Contact us for policy quotes.
Is long-term care insurance
right for you?
There are various issues you need to consider (tax implications, premiums,
policy provisions, etc.) to decide if long-term care insurance is right
for you. Contact our specialist on long-term care issues - Elaine
Edwards - by phone at (563) 652-2491 or e-mail to
get more information.
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