|
"Long
Term Care is the inability to function on a daily basis without human
assistance"
Most people relate nursing home stays to a medical condition. This is the
furthest thing from the truth. There are currently three types of long-term care
and three levels of care you may receive.
Levels of Care
Skilled Care: Treatment by a doctor or nurse on a daily basis for a
medical condition where there is a prognosis of recovery.
Intermediate Care: Treatment similar to Skilled Care but on a less
frequent basis and usually as an outpatient.
Custodial Care: Human assistance on a daily basis to help with activities
of daily living such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, etc.
Types of Care
Nursing Home: These facilities will provide different levels of care and
will have different accreditation. They are intended for the acutely disabled.
The cost will range from $36,000 to $80,000 per year depending on the facility
and whether your room is private or semi-private.*
Assisted Living: These facilities will normally house 10 or more
residents and provide basic custodial care. They are usually upscale and may
even be housed within a retirement center. They are also normally less expensive
than a nursing home, about $30,000 per year and a better living environment.*
Home Health Care: This is normally provided by an agency and will
cost about $15 per hour.* Care in the home is generally only an option if there
is a family member willing to act as the primary caregiver to the person needing
care. The home health aid will provide assistance with the more strenuous tasks
that require lifting and will give the primary caregiver a break. Most home
health care requires 4 to 8 hours per day.
80% of all people in America needing long-term care receive only CUSTODIAL CARE*
How could long-term care effect my family and me?
Most people are totally unaware of the cost and risk of nursing home, home
health care or assisted living. Here are some of the misconceptions people are
under.
* I will never
go to a nursing home
* None of my relatives have ever been in a nursing home so I will never have to
go
* I can
transfer my estate over to my children and the government will pay for my care
* Medicare or my health insurance will pay for my care
* My family will take care of me
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the following statistics apply
with regard to the risk of needing long-term care.
* By age 65 there is a 43% chance of entering a nursing home
* By age 75 there is a 60% chance of entering a nursing home
* One half of all people over 85 are already confined to a nursing home
* 7 out of 10 couples over 65 will experience one partner in a nursing home
* The average stay in a nursing home is 3 years
This means that a majority of the senior adults in America stand a significant
chance of having to spend an average of $180,000 on long-term care.
Imagine having to sit down each month and write a check for $4000.00 to the
nursing home for a spouse or parent. How would that effect you financially?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 made it a felony
to intentionally shelter or give advise on how to shelter assets in order to
qualify for Medicaid.
To qualify for Medicaid you must spend down your estate to a government
established poverty level, have a limited income and require skilled nursing
care. If you qualify, care will be provided in the first available Medicaid bed
in a nursing home within 100 miles. Home health care and assisted living do not
qualify for Medicaid benefits.
Medicare will only pay for skilled nursing care after a 3-day hospital stay and
for a maximum of 100 days. Keep in mind, the average stay is 3 years and 80% of
all people in nursing homes receive only custodial care.*
Examples of the long-term care effects on family members.
Lifting is the largest problem in caring for an individual. A spouse, whether a
man or woman, will develop knee, back, and hip problems over time if they are
able to lift the individual out of the bed or chair. The person who is providing
the care will generally develop health problems if they are caring for a
relative without significant assistance.
Sleep deprivation is associated with caring for a family member with a dementia
problem such as Alzheimer's. The family member requires constant monitoring to
prevent them from harming themselves or from wandering off.
Nobody wants to have a long-term care problem, but you must realize that it
could happen to you and you must prepare yourself.
The one thing that is constant with regard to long-term care is the cost.
Whether you are in a nursing home, an assisted living center or being cared for
at home, it will cost your family between $30,000 and $60,000 per year for an
average of 3 years.*
Long-term care insurance provides money to pay for care. You customize an
insurance policy that meets your personal needs. With a long-term care insurance
policy:
YOU MAINTAIN YOUR INDEPENDENCE--You don't have to spend down your estate
and rely on assistance from the government.
YOU CONTROL THE QUALITY OF CARE--Since your insurance policy is paying
for the care, you determine where you receive the care.
YOU PRESERVE YOUR ASSETS--You have worked hard all of your life to
provide for a comfortable retirement and have something to pass down to your
children or grandchildren.
YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN TO YOUR FAMILY--Even if your family decides to take
care of you, the money provided by the insurance policy allows for them to get
assistance to aid in their every day life.
Elements of a Long-Term Care Insurance Plan
BENEFIT PERIOD - The length of time the policy will pay once you become
disabled. The choices are commonly 2 years, 3 years, 5 years and Unlimited, but
they will vary depending on the insurance company.
DAILY BENEFIT - The amount of money you will receive per day. This is an
option normally made available in $10 increments ranging from $50 per day to
$250 per day. Most people choose between $90 and $120 depending on the average
cost in their area.
INFLATION PROTECTION - This feature is an option and will make the daily
benefit grow by 5% annually to make sure your daily benefit grows as the cost of
care increases. The Department of Insurance in your state requires that all
agents explain this feature and its cost fully at the time of application.
ELIMINATION PERIOD - This feature is similar to a deductible. It simply
means a period of time once you are disabled that will expire before the
insurance policy begins to pay. It may be 0 days, 30 days, 90 days or even 180
days. You make this choice and naturally the longer the elimination period the
lower your premium will be.
These are the primary benefits to be considered. There are several other
features depending on the company and policy that you choose. For this reason a
short interview with a trained specialist in long-term care insurance is a must.
This can be done over the telephone. Things to be considered will be age,
health, marital status, the type of care you desire and how much you can
comfortably afford and want to spend. Contrary to what you may have heard this
insurance is affordable and will fit in almost any budget. Long-term care
insurance is a very specialized product.
No insurance company offers a policy that meets everyone's needs. Some policies
are better for older people. Some are better for younger people. Some are
better for couples and some are better for singles. And of course there are
policies that are low risk for healthy people and high risk for people with
chronic illnesses. This is why we carry a wide variety of policies. Our goal is
to customize a policy that will meet your needs at the very lowest price.
Long term care insurance requires medical information in order to quote a
premium. Please call us at one of the following numbers for more information.
| 
