 |
Long Term Care Insurance
|
|
| |
What is long-term care?
Long-term care involves a wide
variety of services for people with a prolonged illness, disability
or cognitive disorder (such as Alzheimer's disease). Long-term
care is not one service, but many different services aimed at
providing people with the help they need when a prolonged illness
or disability keeps them from being able to care for themselves.
It can range from help with day-to-day activities in the home
(custodial care such as dressing, preparing meals, bathing,
etc.) to more sophisticated services such as skilled nursing
care in your home or a nursing facility.
Persons with physical illnesses or disabilities often need hands-on-assistance
with activities of daily living. Persons with cognitive impairments
generally need supervision, protection or verbal reminders to
accomplish everyday activities. Skilled care and personal care
remain the most common terms used to describe long-term care
and the level of care a person may need.
What is long term care insurance?
Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance provides for
handling the financial burden of either nursing home care or
at-home care. Policies typically pay a fixed daily benefit,
which is chosen at the time of inception of the policy. |
|
|
LTC coverage is important if your wish to preserve your estate
or if you do not wish to burden your family with the care or expense
of nursing care.
Do I need Long-Term Care Insurance?
If you are asking yourself this question, consider these few facts:
- Every
53 seconds someone in the U.S. has a stroke.
- Strokes
afflict one-half million Americans every year, killing one-third
and disabling another 200,000 individuals.
- The average
length of stay in a nursing home for a recovering stroke patient
is 868 days (more than 2 years).
- The national
average cost for nursing homes is approximately $105.00 per
day. Assisted living ranges anywhere from $50 - $90 per day.
If you live on the Eastern Seaboard you can easily spend $50,000
to $80,000 for a year's stay in a nursing home. These costs
are perfectly capable of wiping out a lifetime of savings-not
to mention the emotional effect long-term care has on a family.
- A Harvard
University study showed that 69% of single people and 34%
of married couples would exhaust their assets after 13 weeks
in a nursing home. 13 Weeks = 91 days!
- The government
isn't going to pay for long-term care at home, in a nursing
home, or in an assisted living center. Medicare pays 100%
of long-term care for 20 days and all but $95.00 per day for
the next 80 days--after that nothing. However Medicare only
pays for skilled care and most long term care is not skilled
care.
|
|
