Long-Term
Care Insurance Part One Part
Two Part Three
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Everyone ages. And sometimes we need nursing home care. We suggest you consider planning for a brighter future and look into long-term care insurance. For more information, read this three part article written by Nancy and long-term insurance expert, Reed Downey, Jr., who has been a life and health insurance agent for nineteen years. Be safe, |
Part One of a three part series on our changing
health care needs and the financial options we have as we age
Statistics only cheer up statisticians. The rest of us have good reason to be concerned. 1. The population is graying. In 2011, 75 million baby boomers will start turning 65. 25% of the baby boomers are already over 50. A longer life span doesn't always include good health. Jane Bryant Quinn of Newsweek said, "One in four of everyone over 65 will enter a nursing home for at least a year, and one in 10 for five years or more." The US Agency for Health Care Research says the figures are much higher. The news gets worse: "47.2 percent of those over 85 have Alzheimer's Disease or related disorders," according to Eleanor Cooper of John Hancock Financial Services.
2. Wives outlive their husbands by an average of seven years and may spend years caring for their older, ailing spouses.
3. Singles may have no one to care for them as they age. Extended family care is often a thing of the past. Only 15% of parents over 65 live with their children. The late actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed with spinal cord injuries at 43. He was fortunate enough to have a friend who paid his medical bills and kept his family going. Will actor Robin Williams personally take care of your expenses too? Business Week said, "One in five Americans over age 50 is at risk of needing long-term care services during the next twelve months." During your working years, you are more likely to be disabled than you are to die young.
5. In home care for the elderly or the disabled can be difficult. Yet, eight of ten families are affected by the need to provide for an aging relative.
6. Postponing childbirth can throw families, especially women, into the caregiver squeeze. The average American woman spends 17 years raising children and 18 years helping aging parents.
7. The real costs of proper care for the elderly and the disabled are high and getting higher.
Do you have adequate assets to provide for the care you will need?
There are 1.5 million people in nursing homes today. Ten million more people are cared for at home, at adult day care centers, at assisted living centers and at adult foster homes. Nursing home beds are currently about 90% full. While more facilities are being built, new construction and higher staffing costs mean fees are going up. Nursing homes are already expensive. Right now, costs range from $85 to $120 per day. This comes to well over $30,000 per year and will be $200,000 or even $400,000 in 20 years. Today, home health care runs at least $100 for an eight-hour day. Adult day care is now priced at $50 to $100 per day. Costs for both will go up. Will you outlive your assets? Can you protect them? If your assets are over $100,000, some serious financial planning is in order. Don't overlook this issue. Every year, there are up to one million bankruptcies related to long-term care. Don't expect the government to step in and take care of us all. The resources simply aren't available. To compensate, the rules are strict. Medicaid is under serious financial pressure. This means poorer care, shorter benefits and spending down assets to qualify. Medicare, Medicare supplements and employer provided insurance are designed for short term, skilled care. Their benefits are limited. Turning your assets over to your children is an option that must be well planned and executed. Risks of poor planning include criminal penalties and actual loss of assets. One solution: Long-Term Care Insurance. It can cover your benefit gaps, protect your assets and make sure that you are well taken of when you need care. In Part Two of this series, we will look at all of our options for financing the care we are statistically likely to need as we age. In Part Three of this series, we will discuss what to look for in good long-term care policies and some precautions.
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