The marvels of modern medicine and medical care has helped us all live healthier and generally longer lives. This is a wonderful thing. But, there is a downside. That big negative is the cost. Our later years can be very expensive ones as modern medicine and medical procedures keep us alive longer. And, someone has to pay those costs.
In addition to the medical costs, there often are costs for basic care that our medical insurance won’t cover. It is quite possible today to live for years even after we might become partially, or even fully, disabled. If so, we may need help getting around; eating, bathing, etc. It is unlikely that we will have family members who either can, or will, completely take care of us. Even if that were possible, it’s quite a burden on them and we probably would rather not impose that on our loved ones.
In our later years, we most need our loved
ones to provide emotional support and enjoyment of our time together.
That is very difficult if they are also forced to provide for our
physical care on a day-to-day basis. To put it bluntly, if that
happens, they likely will be resentful of the burden and restrictions
imposed on their own life.
Your case may be different. You
may have true angels for family members. If so, maybe you need not
worry about long term care insurance.
But, for most of us – we
need to think about how we can ensure we have adequate long term care
should it be needed. Again, I’m not talking about long term care medical insurance; this article is about the care needed in addition to what medical insurance will cover.
There are essentially three ways we can get long-term care.
Cash:
Most of us do not have sufficient money to pay the costs of long-term
care which could be very high. The costs depend on how intensive the
care is that’s required; whether it can realistically be provided in our
home or will we have to move to a nursing home or assisted living
facility; and, how long the care will be provided. The cost of the
premiums for long term insurance will depend on factors such as our age;
medical condition; family medical history; features of policy, etc.
Truthfully, unless you have more than a million dollars you can devote
to this if need be, paying cash is probably not a viable option. And,
even if you have that kind of money, as a matter of estate planning, you
might be better off buying the insurance and preserving more of your
estate for use elsewhere.
Medicaid: is the option that
many end up "electing" because they are forced to. But, there are many
problems with that. First¸ you may be forced to "spend down" your
assets before you qualify for Medicaid. And, second, Medicaid will not
pay for some of the costs that you likely will want covered. If you
don’t have many assets, then the "spend down" requirements may not
matter much. Maybe you will easily qualify without losing much. You
will still have the problem of Medicaid not covering many things. But,
all in all, if you don’t have many assets, relying on Medicaid may not
be a bad option. As a practical matter, if you don’t have many assets,
you probably can’t afford to buy long term care insurance anyway.
Long Term Care Insurance:
Most of us are somewhere in the middle and for us, the best option is
probably to buy a good long-term care insurance policy. So the most
common reason to buy long term care insurance is because we have enough
assets to protect that Medicaid is not an option; yet not enough money
to be sure we can pay cash for any elder care we might need.
But, what’s the best way to buy it? As with most things, there is a cost vs benefit analysis that must be conducted. There are a number of factors to consider in order to make sure that you are buying long term care insurance that both provides the needed benefits and is not too expensive.
Tips for Buying Long Term Care Insurance
I think your company is great. But, put yourself in my shoes. Company B is offering to provide the same coverage at a lower cost. What can I do? I’d like to go with you all but ….
Of
course all of this is well and good in the abstract. But, there are
also long term care insurance problems to consider. Buying long term
care insurance means we have to sacrifice in other areas. So, it's not
free; and not an easy choice. In making it, you will have to consider
many variables individual to you. One is simply how likely you feel you
are to one day need long term care insurance. That should not be the
overriding consideration since we are often wrong about that. Still,
obviously, it's something to think about. And, then there is what other
support you might have available. What your family's medical history
is like, etc, etc, etc.
Hopefully, you now have a few tips and pointers to as you research whether to purchase elder care insurance, and if "yes;" then how
to buy long term care insurance. At a minimum, you owe it to yourself
and your family and friends to at least do some research and weigh the
pros and cons of long term care insurance in your particular case.
If you are interested in a medicare supplement plan, check out Best Medicare Supplement Plan.
See Nursing home costs and payment options
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