play_arrow

It Pays to Plan Ahead: Long Term Care Insurance

It Pays to Plan Ahead: Long-Term Care Insurance

They don’t call it the grey tide for nothing! Baby boomers are about to make up the largest senior population the world has ever seen, and if plans aren’t made now, getting old is going to be an extremely costly endeavor. It’s one thing to plan for retirement, but the average lifespan is constantly increasing and tomorrow’s seniors will live in a vastly different environment than those before them. 

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, 33% of boomers aged 65 and older will eventually need long-term care of some type. That’s a pretty large percentage. The obvious problem with long-term care is that it’s not cheap. The cost of care often exceeds a senior’s fixed income, their adult children’s salary, and dips into the legacy they hoped to leave behind. Depending on the level of care needed, facility costs can rise above $3,000/month while in home care costs up to $250/day; a major setback for middle and working class families. 

Genworth Financial calculated that a semi-private room in a nursing home costs an average of $80,300 in 2015. How can you prepare for a cost so high? One answer is long-term care insurance. Just like regular health insurance, it pays off to plan ahead when purchasing a plan. If you are able to lock into a long-term care insurance plan before anything drastic changes with your health, your premium will be considerably lower and there is a much smaller chance you’ll be denied. A healthy 55 or 60 year old who is thinking about long-term care should have no problem finding a reasonable policy. Any decent policy will provide substantial coverage in the event that care is needed down the road. 

Long-term care insurance is meant for people who cannot pay out of pocket or qualify outright for government assistance. Sounds easy enough, right? But people love to procrastinate and rather than planning for a long-term care scenario, many Americans wait until it is too late and are hit by major costs. Even if you’re hoping to qualify for government assistance, you should be aware that your Medicare plan does not cover most long-term care costs. You will have to apply for a separate Medicaid plan. To qualify for Medicaid long-term care, states are able to set their own rules, but most have an asset limit that hovers around $2,000. 

If you predict your assets will exceed your state’s limit, then once again, it pays off to have long-term care insurance. The majority of states offer what is called a long-term care insurance partnership. Basically, a long-term care partnership means that for every dollar spent on your long-term care insurance plan, the state will protect an equal amount of assets in the event your policy’s coverage runs out and you still need care. For example, if your policy covers up to $275,000 worth of care and you spend through that, you can now apply for Medicaid with $275,000 worth of assets exempted from their qualification process. These partnerships are great for those hoping to leave a legacy behind for their loved ones. 

 

As I’ve repeatedly said, it pays off to plan ahead. As you age, insurers will be less likely to grant you a policy because of health conditions that may arise. In addition, if you are in poor health at a young age, it will unfortunately be difficult to find a long-term care insurer. There are insurance plans that take on people of poor health, but the premiums will be much higher so it is very important to shop around while you are still active and in good health. Even if you think it may be too late and there are no options for you, it could still be a good idea to call and speak to an agent. Long-term care insurance is a great asset for any older adult. 


Max Gottlieb is the content manager of Senior Planning and ALTCS in Phoenix, Arizona. While not affiliated with any long term care insurance provider, Senior Planning receives many questions on this subject. Senior Planning gives free assistance to seniors and their families, helping them navigate the often-complicated process of finding senior care in Arizona. 

5 Reasons to Use Home Care

Home Care Services in Northville MI: When an elderly relative becomes incapable of living alone without help from others, many families believe that they can offer all the care the person needs without outside help.

Is it Fibromyalgia?

Elder Care in Novi MI: Fibromyalgia is a disorder than can affect people of any age, including older adults. It is a very common condition that affects the bones and muscles.

What Are High-touch Surfaces?

Elder Care in Livonia MI: There’s a lot of talk about paying close attention to high-touch surfaces. But what are those and how can you deal with this in your senior’s home?

Meet Desiree

Home Care in Novi MI: Desiree is the proud Daughter of agency owners Carrie Akin and Tim Seipke. Desiree is an essential part of the CareOne Senior Care Office Team.

CareOne is Proactive in Practices

Home Care in Novi MI: CareOne Senior Care continues to operate under standard operating procedures to protect our clients throughout the entire year. We do not allow our staff who may have a common cold or flu to interact with our Seniors while sick.

Supporting Senior's Nutritional Health

Home Care in Novi MI: Many seniors face inadequate nutrition. The effects of being undernourished or malnourished can be dangerous, so it is important to recognize signs of nutritional issues in aging loved ones.

Home Remedies for Knee Pain

Home Care in Plymouth MI: Knee pain can occur in older adults for a variety of reasons. They may suffer a strain or sprain due to a fall or overexertion. Or, they could have knee pain from arthritis.

Coping with the Time Change

Home Care in Livonia MI: Recently, daylight savings time officially ended again as we turned our clocks back one hour on Sunday, November 3rd, making sunrise and sunset times an hour earlier.

How to Talk to a Senior About Caregiver Burnout

Caregiver in Plymouth MI: When you’re the primary family caregiver for an older adult, you may eventually suffer from caregiver burnout. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, tired, and frustrated by the responsibilities of being a caregiver.

Advice for Seniors Just Diagnosed with Diabetes

Home Care Services in West Bloomfield MI: A new diagnosis of diabetes can be overwhelming. There’s so much to learn about the disease itself and how to proceed. Both the senior with the disease and their family caregivers have a big job ahead of them.

3 Preconditions to Act on Fast

Caregiver in Birmingham MI: Sometimes being told your older family member has a health condition can be seen as a positive instead of a negative. For example, learning they have a precondition gives them a chance to make changes.

Is Frailty a Part of Aging?

Home Care in Novi MI: Frailty is typically defined as getting slower, losing strength, weight loss, and not having as much strength as a person did when they were younger. Most people assume that getting frail is a natural part of aging.

July Is International Hepatitis Awareness Month

Preventative healthcare is important for seniors - many diseases are more likely to form as people age, and typically the most effective treatments are the ones that start early on in an illness' development. While many of these processes have been well known for years -

Living Alone with Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Many people with Alzheimer's continue to live successfully on their own during the early stage of the disease. Making simple adjustments, taking safety precautions and having the support of others can make things easier.

Creating a Care Partnership

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects 1 in 100 people over age 60. While the average age at onset is 60, people have been diagnosed as young as 18. Sharing in your loved one's journey with Parkinson's disease....

CareOne Senior Care Receives 2017 Best of Home Care-Provider of Choice Award

Southeast Michigan – CareOne Senior Care announced today that it has received the 2017 Best of Home Care – Provider of Choice Award from Home Care Pulse. The Provider of Choice Award is granted only to the top-ranking home care providers, based on client satisfaction scores gathered by Home Care Pulse, an independent satisfaction research firm for home care. CareOne Senior Care is now ranked among a select few

Hospital Discharge Planning: A Guide for Families and Caregivers

Being Discharged home after a hospitalization or a stay in a rehab center can be very confusing. At a time that a loved one may be adjusting to a new diagnosis or recovering from an injury, illness or surgery, transitioning home can be scary and overwhelming to both the patient and the family caregiver(s).

July is UV Safety Awareness Month

Summer has arrived and while the sun is shining bright it's a golden time to highlight July as UV Safety Awareness Month! We all love to take in those warm summer rays, but everyone must remember

Elderly Summer Precautions: Senior Care Tips

The heat of summer is here and it is an important time to review some vital safety tips for seniors. Elderly persons are more prone to the effects of heat and at greater risk for dehydration. According to the CDC, elderly......

Understanding Dementia

Your memory often changes as you grow older. Some people may recognize changes in themselves before anyone else notices. Other times, friends and family will be the first to observe changes in memory, behavior or abilities. It may be hard to know the difference between age-related changes

Put a Spring in your Step!

Spring is an ideal time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, smell the flowers and go for a walk!  Walking is also an opportunity for people of all ages to increase activity and improve health.   Fitting a simple 35-minute walk into...

May is National Stroke Awareness Month

May is National Stoke Awareness Month in the United States of America. Close to 800,000 strokes occur in the United States alone every year. Because of the high rate of strokes in this country, Stroke Awareness Month was designed to provide...

May is ALS Awareness Month

CareOne Senior Care, knows, first hand, the challenges of living with and caring for a loved one that has been diagnosed with ALS.  Our personal experience as a family in finding and providing exceptional care to our loving Mother, who...

Growing and Gardening Together

To grow a more meaningful and healthy connection with an elderly loved one, put on some rubber clogs and head out together to the garden! At any age, gardening is one of the best activities we can do outdoors.  It stimulates all of...
248-255-4456