Long-term Care Insurance

The staff at JADP received a training inservice about Long-term Care Insurance with Jolynn Synder that was incredibly informative!  Long-term care is different from traditional medical care.  Long-term care includes services that help with the activities of daily living such as home health care, respite care, hospice care, adult day care, assisted living, or care in a nursing home.  Someone with a physical illness or disability often needs hands-on or stand-by assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring).  People with cognitivie impairments usually need supervision, protection, or verbal reminders to do everyday activities. 

The thing is, long-term care can be very expensive (an average cost of four years of long-term care services is in the ballpark of $200,000 for those four years!).  The cost depends on the amount and type of care you need when you get it.  People pay for long-term care  in a variety of ways including using the personal resources of individuals or their families, long-term care insurance, and some assistance from Medicaid for those who qualify.  Medicare, Medicare supplement  insurance, and the health insurance you have at work usually does not pay for long-term care because it is not considered medical or accute care.  If you get Long-term Care Insurance, however, it will pay for or reimburse you for some or all of your long-term care needs.  You should consider buying Long-Term Care Insurance if:

• You have significant assets and income.
• You want to protect some of your assets and income.
• You can pay premiums, including possible premium increases, without financial difficulty.
• You want to stay independent of the support of others.
• You want to have the flexibility of choosing care in the setting you prefer or will be most comfortable in.

There are several options for buying long-term care insurance.  Jolynn really emphasized how important it is to plan ahead, especially for long-term care needs.

The big question is: What is your plan for long-term care?

If you would like more information about long-term care in general, or long-term Care Insurance, let us know!  We are happy to help!