If you are under the age of 50, then you probably haven’t thought about the benefits of long term care insurance, let alone doing some research for insurance quotes. Most of us insure our familiar tangibles, like our homes or our vehicles! And if you work, your health insurance is more than likely provided by your employer…that topic for another article.

Research has shown that the vast majority of people in the world will live longer. This is due to medical advances as well as a rise in health consciousness. Baby boomers, especially, will make up the vast majority of seniors in the near future. And as baby boomers live longer, they may eventually need medical, home or nursing care.

Most western cultures do not discuss how to care for aging family members. Some people have their health care already specified and taken care of. But families who are not financially able usually just let the “chips fall where they may.” Whether care is provided for or not, caring for the sick or elderly is not a “hot topic” at most dinner tables.

It should be.

If you, or anyone has ever observed or been in a position where you were responsible for the care of an older or chronically ill family member, then you realize that planning for long term care is a beneficial aspect of heath care.

An aging parent or a loved one who develops a degenerative condition, a chronic illness (heart attack or stroke), or is in a major accident, may require assistance after hospital care is over from either a nursing home or a skilled health care professional.

What is long term care insurance?

Long term care insurance provides the recipient with assistance for daily living activities . Bathing, dressing, and eating are “living activities” that would be performed by a nursing home or skilled health care professional. These services would either take place in the home environment, or at a nursing home.

Using Health Insurance Benefits

You can use health insurance benefits to pay for hospital care, doctors visits and prescription drugs. Most policies don’t cover the expenses for non-hospital, nursing or home care. If your aging, chronically ill or injured family member needs either of these for an extended period of time, the out of pocket costs can add up to thousands of dollars!

Some considerations

If long term health care is not for you, here are some points to know:

• Medicare benefits are not provided until after a person reaches 65 years of age.
• Medicare benefits do not cover all expenses.
• Medicaid benefits are not provided until all other financial assets are exhausted.

Deciding whether or not to purchase long term care insurance takes research and planning. But if you are healthy enough and able to purchase one, this type of policy can provide a measure of independence for the policy holder. It may also free other family members from the financial burden and emotional strain that may come with providing care for an aging parent or loved one.

Rochelle Johnson is the successful writer and publisher of http://www.a1-insurace-4u.com. An information portal that provides online insurance quote reviews for health, life, automobile and homeowners insurance.

When you think about long-term care insurance, you want to consider a few questions. First, you want to decide if you truly need this type of coverage. Next, you want to consider what the plans will cover.

In addition, you want to compare the costs and the benefits of taking out long-term care insurance. Once you decide you want to learn about basic plans verses comprehensive packages.

To begin evaluate your overall case:

Do you have Alzheimer disease? If you do then you will need a long-term care insurance policy to cover expenses, such as long-term medical needs and care provider. If you have Alzheimer disease, you will need a policy to cover nursing home expenses in the future.

HMO branches into Medicaid and/or Medicare. These insurance polices will cover basic healthcare needs, prescriptions and so on. What Medicaid and Medicare will not do is cover name brand prescriptions. In some instances, you also pay co-payments. Medicaid and Medicare will cover nursing home expenses, caregiver services, and basic medical expenses including hospitalization. However, if you make x amount of income, you may not qualify for HMO plans such as Medicaid assistance. Medicare is usually given to those 65 and older.

When considering long-term care insurance you want a plan that will cover expenses when you have to retire or are unemployed for a length of time. Look for plans that will cover healthcare costs, adult care, and will offer you coverage for caregivers if you need them.

Any insurance plan includes interest, premiums, and sometimes deductibles. Medicaid does not have deductibles but other types of insurance plans do.

The interest rates are based on your gender, age, risks, marriage status, health condition, and so on. There are different types of policies and coverage so check around to explore your options.

When you search for long-term care plans visit the web to search through various companies that offer these plans. You can use the quote systems to compare the types of insurance policies, prices and so on.

At what time you search for coverage buy the plans earlier in your life so you will save on premiums, and interest rates. Some of the long-term care insurance will give you a surplus of benefits, so search the Internet to find the best plans and rates.

Other types of insurance plans include life insurance, term life, healthcare insurance, HMO, cobra, and so on.

Check your current plans to see what you have already. You may have sufficient coverage to protect your future. If not, then review all plans. Rather than focusing on one type of insurance, you want to find coverage that gives you the most for your money. Some insurance plans will reimburse you when you are out of work. Some plans will also cover burial expenses. So be sure to surf through the different plans when considering insurance.

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The AARP insurance is a long-term policy that rises above common coverage of Medicare. These plans help you to discover solutions to care for your loved ones. AARP insurance covers anyone over the age 50. These policies will provide you with benefits, such as membership. Membership benefits often mean that you only pay less than $100 annually. Your spouse may also benefit from these insurance plans.

These long-term insurance plans often give you benefits and discounts. The policyholder sometimes has access to homeowner coverage, health coverage, and auto coverage. In addition, the policyholder may receive services from online, such as music, travel, grocery savings, computer savings and other benefits.

AARP supplies the policyholder with advocacies. The advocacies are often in Washington, which these people will represent you. The representation will cover purchased safety, Medicare issues and social security issues.

This long-term insurance provides you with advocacies that give you advice on living healthier. You receive plans for financing, protection over purchase, living healthier advice and tips for parents in taking care of their loved ones.

Because cost increases occur annually, especially in nursing home care Medicare will only provide minimal care to the patient. The patient must pay the remaining balance of his or her care from his social security benefits. AARP insurance steps in to battle this problem.

The long-term care insurance protects the policyholder’s investments as well as their savings. This policy will preserve your freedom. Unlike common Medicare, this plan enables you to opt for any nursing home you choose. In other words, Medicare recipients only qualify for selected nursing homes as required by the providers.

You have a broader option in AARP insurance. This long-term plan covers payments or expenses of your healthcare that you receive at home, in spite of who you have as a caregiver. This plan will also cover nursing home expenses, adult care, or any facilities that provide care for elderly.

You have other benefits with the long-term insurance policy. You can opt for flex plans that will accommodate your needs. If you are on a strict budget, AARP insurance providers will find a plan and coverage to fit your needs.

Common Medicare does not cover extensive needs in healthcare for the older generation. This is a huge problem, since many elderly people are not getting the health care they need. Too many people die earlier because of this problem.

If you are searching for healthcare coverage then AARP is the route you may want to take. Rather than worrying over your aged parent, you can rest knowing that your loved one is getting the care that they need.

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The industry of retirement and long term care have become big business. The simple fact is that people are living longer but can’t maintain their own home enviorment. There are many options that come into play ,usually the first choice families make is when they are in crisis, mom or dad has taken a fall or change in condition. They end up in the ER or hospital with the staff and social worker telling them mom or dad can’t be left alone anymore. Just imagine hearing this at 3am on a week night when you have to be at work at 9am . This becomes even harder when siblings don’t agree.

The truth is it is hard to accept that you now must be the person who makes choices and decisions for the person who taught you how. If you or the aging person is lucky you have already started a conversation and even have long term care insurance to help off-set the cost , if not its a scary place to be. The first and most important thing to remember is The marketers for the facilities you might be looking at are not your friends. The job they are paid to do and if do well is to make you think they are only looking out for the persons well being. These people are in it to make money, I know because I worked in long term care all aspects for over 20 years.

There are several retirement communities that spout they are not for profit when in fact they are managed by a management company that is all about the bottom line. You need to know it will not be the people you interact with daily that will make the decisions that directly related to the care of yourself or loved one. The choice of vendors.pharmacies and staffing numbers are decided by someone that is very rarely in the building.

The second important thing is to not look to the lic. agencyof assisted living who provides their lic. to give care, They will not protect you or your loved ones interest. The assisted living facilities are now providing nursing home care but are not required to have the same professional caregivers and are not subject to the same scrutiny as nursing homes. They do not even require a real nurse to be there, someone just needs to sign the oversight form monthly. The majority of medication is administered by someone who took a week long course only.

Even when on a licencing visit when they find medications have not been signed out as given these facilities are not fined but you can believe the resident has been charged for it. When actually you don’t know its been given. The Lic agency will follow-up on a complaint( only because this is mandated by law) but seldom do they find the complaint founded when it is in reference to the number of staff required to provide service or care to a certain number of residents. Recently a local lic. agency agreed with a facility that stated 1 nurse and one cna could adequately care for 53 residents on 6 wings on two seperate floors. Including the need for incontinent care and medication administration.

The monthly rent for some of these residents exceeds $4000.oo because of the level of care they need,remember many leases are service based which means you pay if dad so much as needs someone to remove his socks and shoes. The premiums paid by you for long term care(if you have this insurance) result in the insurance company making payment based on the services the facility says you or your loved one require but does anyone from the insurance company physically come to the facility and see that these services are truelly being provided on a consistent basis?

The majority of time a form is faxed to be completed and is usually completed by someone who does not do or even see the care as it is provided.The bottom line is with out changes,without the demand of accountability nothing will change and that is why I am sad to say I have left the healthcare feild.I wish now to educate and advocate I will not be part of the problem I hope to be part of the solution.

Lisa Knipple LPN

I have worked in health care for over 23 years ,I have loved being a nurse and the thing I always focused on was the patient as the priorty. I have lived and worked in the state of Virginia for 9 years.

If you are out shopping for long term care (commonly abbreviated as LTCI or LTC), I’m going to encourage you to take a look at a way of providing long term care benefits that is probably new to you. On the other hand, if you are in the crowd that thinks they will never need long term care, I would also suggest you evaluate this line of thinking.

Dick and Jane are both age 65, recently retired and models of good health. They have ignored the long term care subject until recently. They just put Jane’s mother, who is 88, into a nursing home. Talk about sticker shock! She is in a nice place, but Dick and Jane are not 100% certain that her assets will allow her to stay there for the rest of her life.

Consequently, they have been out looking at long term care for themselves. They figure they can afford to insure a portion of what it might cost them if they ever need some form of LTCI, so they are looking at a benefit of $3,000 a month. The premium is around $4,200 a year.

Here’s a new concept that Dick and Jane must become accustomed to now that they are retired. They both had good jobs during their working years. If they ever wanted to buy anything, it was just a question of looking at their income to see if they could swing the purchase. Pretty straightforward.

Now that they are retired, most of their expenditures are going to come from investment returns on the assets they have accumulated, not income from working. So they need to understand the difference between premium cost and opportunity cost. Here’s what I mean…

If they elect to buy this $4,200 a year long term care policy, the money has to come from somewhere. Chances are it’s coming from the interest earned on perhaps a CD or an annuity. But there is an opportunity cost associated with paying the premiums from earnings on any asset.

Let’s say they are going to pay this $4,200 from the interest on a CD they own which is earning 5.4% interest. Since interest is taxable, and assuming they are in a 15% tax bracket, they would have to have $91,300 in that CD to produce $4,200 after tax to pay the premium.

They can’t spend the $91,300. It can’t grow. Basically, they have “committed” $91,300 of their assets to pay the premium on their LTC policy. That’s the one “job” of this $91,300. The premium may only be $4,200 a year, but the opportunity cost is $91,300.

Let’s take a look at another of their alternatives. It’s called asset based long term care. How it works will unfold as I provide the example and contrast below.

One approach to asset based long term care involves re-positioning $91,300 of Dick and Jane’s CD to a combination long term care/life insurance policy plan with an insurance company. Here’s what moving this money does for them…

The money on deposit with the insurance company grows at interest, but it is tax-deferred interest so the insurance company will not send them 1099s every year for an amount they have to pay tax on like the bank is required to do. In 10 years, assuming current rates, the $91,300 will grow to $127,000; in 20 years $161,000. The CD, remember, does not grow, as its job is to spin off interest to pay the annual $4,200 premium on the traditional LTCI plan.

If either Dick or Jane needs any form of long term care, the insurance company plan will pay them $3,900 a month for 50 months–$900 a month more than the traditional plan.

But here’s the real kicker.

If Dick and Jane never need long term care, then the camp that doesn’t buy it would have been right. If Dick and Jane bought the traditional long term care plan, in 10 years they would have paid out $42,000 in premiums and about $7,400 in taxes on their CD interest in order to net out the required premium. That’s a total of $49,700. The $91,300 portion of their CD would still be $91,300.

However, if Dick and Jane never need long term care, chose the asset based long term care plan and both die, for example in 10 years, the outcome is different. They have paid no annual premiums and the life insurance company will pay about $198,000 tax free to their kids.

Which sounds like a better plan?

Robert D. Cavanaugh, CLU is a 36-year financial and estate planning veteran and author of the free newsletter, “The Estate Preservation Advisor”. For cutting-edge, easy-to-understand financial planning resources and techniques to increase your income, reduce taxes and preserve your estate, go to http://theestatepreservationadvisor.com/freevideo.htm

My mother-in-law recently passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Throughout her battle, our family had to deal with many emotional and legal issues. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be discussing these in more detail in the hope that you and your loved ones will be prepared for life’s difficulties.

The physical impact of caring for a sick loved one is enormous. Everyday tasks that we often take for granted, such as eating, bathing, or going to the bathroom become major chores. As my family found out, trying to provide all of the care within the family quickly became unmanageable. The additional duties significantly impacted all the relatives involved physically, financially and emotionally.

For many, the cost of insurance that provides help with long-term care seems prohibitive. But the cost of not having it are far greater. You can’t underestimate the emotional impact a long-term illness will have on a family. It is like a heavy, dark cloud that can’t be lifted. The assistance paid for by a long-term care insurance policy provides the family the ability to deal with the emotional issues instead of focusing on meeting the physical needs.

Without long-term care insurance, caregivers are on call 24/7. There are no days off, no ‘punching-out’ of the time clock for a quick break. Those caring for loved ones suffer from sleep deprivation and high stress levels. Healthy habits such as regular exercise, balanced diet and regular sleep go out the window. Studies have shown that long-term caregivers have a shorter life span and increased health problems than their same-age counterparts. My own father-in-law had only a few hours of sleep each day for weeks. We soon became concerned for his health.

For some families, it’s even worse. Weeks drag on into months and months into years if their loved ones suffer from illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. In my mother-in-law’s case, she was able to remain fairly independent until the last six weeks. But others dying from cancer have needed intense care for six months or more.

Of course we feel pain, grief and fear when someone we love is ill. But caregivers focus so much on the needs of their loved ones that their own needs go unmet. They feel guilty expressing their own problems when their loved one is suffering so much. The physical exhaustion makes dealing with their emotions even more difficult. It’s hard to be objective when your world is turned upside down. And to whom do they turn? They can’t easily tell the one they’re caring for how they feel. Caregivers often stuff their own needs and go into ‘survival mode’, just trying to get through one day or one hour at a time.

Compounding all of these difficulties is the financial impact of long term care. In our case, my father-in-law is a pastor of a small church and they were very understanding, giving him the freedom to care for his wife without costing him his job. But what if he was working a regular 9 to 5 job? Sick days only last so long. If other family members aren’t able to pick up the slack, who will?

Few can afford professional nursing care at $25 an hour for an extended period of time. The cost of custodial care is not covered by most health insurance plans or Medicare. And Hospice only takes over when a terminally ill patient no longer seeks treatment.

If you’ve never considered long term care insurance, please think again. I now understand that long-term care insurance is as much for the family as for the patient. The unfortunate truth is that many of you reading this article will find yourself on either the giving or receiving end of long term care. Having long term care insurance will go a long way in reducing the inevitable suffering that long term illness brings, both for the caregivers and the patient.

Selecting the proper long-term care policy isn’t always easy. Consult with a reputable advisor and get quotes from several different companies. I will be happy to help you in any way I can.

If you have a specific question or would like more information go to http://www.guardingyourwealth.com. You can also reach me by email at jeff@guardingyourwealth.com.

Mr. Voudrie is a Certified Financial Planner, nationally syndicated columnist, and the President of Legacy Planning Group, Inc., a Private Wealth Management firm in Johnson City, TN.

Nationally-syndicated financial columnist and Certified Financial Planner® Jeffrey Voudrie provides personal, in-depth money management services and advice to select private clients throughout the USA. He’ll answer your financial question – FREE at http://www.guardingyourwealth.com

Recent legislation in Congress may make it even more difficult for seniors to qualify for government-paid long-term care coverage. If you don’t take action now, you may be setting you and your family up for a Long Term Nightmare!

This problem is so potentially damaging, yet so little understood, I’ve decided to dedicate multiple articles to covering it. In this article, I’ll expose the problem. Future articles will explain possible solutions.

Seniors know the potential cost of long-term care could devastate them financially. The thought of seeing the nest egg they’ve worked years to build evaporate to pay for their care is hard to take. Some seniors seek to find ways to manipulate the system so that they can qualify for government assistance. Others mistakenly believe that Medicare and
Medicaid will pay for their care.

The reason that many feel the government should cover this cost is because Medicare and Medicaid are designed to provide health insurance to those over 65 (MediCARE) or to those who are impoverished (MedicAID). Since the need for care is usually the result of failing health, why shouldn’t it, they reason.

The terms ‘long-term care’ and ‘skilled-nursing care’ refer to different needs. Understanding the difference is critical to understanding the problems you and your family may face. Knowing the difference will prevent a false sense of security.

‘Long-term care’ is a generalized term that refers to the assisted care individuals may require in their homes, an assisted-living facility or a nursing home. ‘Skilled-nursing care’ is a specific term used when that assistance must be provided by a licensed or registered nurse.

‘Long-term care’ includes the need for both custodial care and skilled-nursing care. ‘Skilled-nursing care’ does NOT include the need for custodial care. That’s the issue that creates the Long Term Nightmare.

For instance, if someone needs assistance because they can’t bathe, cook or dress themselves, they need custodial care. If someone has dementia and needs to be supervised, that is referred to as custodial care. If someone needs intravenous fluids (IV), they need skilled-nursing care because it cannot be administered by anyone else. Custodial care can be done by a family member. Skilled-nursing care is provided by licensed nurses.

The assistance provided by Medicare to those over 65 is only for skilled-nursing care. Typically this care occurs in a nursing home while the patient recovers from a surgery or illness that required at least a 3-day hospital stay. If the hospital stay didn’t occur, Medicare won’t pay for it. Even then, Medicare will only cover roughly 100 days.

Medicare does NOT provide any coverage when the assistance needed is custodial. Those costs must be paid entirely by the individual and/or their family. Medicare will not pay for stays in an assisted-living facility.

For the impoverished who qualify, Medicaid will cover nursing home costs. But the number of Medicaid beds is limited and recipients may face long waiting periods to get into such a facility.

Sometimes Medicaid will cover assisted living facilities and home health care, which includes custodial care. But these benefits are harder to receive reimbursement for. Rules and benefits vary from state to state. The bottom line for those depending on Medicaid is that you will be left with few options and limited care.

The greatest need for long-term care as we age is often custodial in nature. At some point, we are all likely to need help with our medications, cooking and cleaning. Worse, we may be suffering from the chronic effects of a long term illness. Even though we may not be able to care for ourselves as a result, Medicare will not pay for any help unless it requires a skilled nurse. They will, however, cover hospice care for terminally ill patients.

Many families find themselves caught in the nightmare of having to provide the care that isn’t covered by insurance or the government. This problem will not go away—the government is likely to cover even less care in the future. Take action now.

In a future article, I will talk about the long-term care coverage provided by Medicaid and what is required to qualify for it. Then I will outline steps you can take to avoid a Long-Term Nightmare.

Have a financial question? Send me an email and I’ll personally respond, free of charge. Go to http://www.guardingyourwealth.com and click on ‘Ask Jeff’.

In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist and Certified Financial Planning Practitioner, Mr. Voudrie provides personal, private money management services to clients nationwide.

Nationally-syndicated financial columnist and Certified Financial Planner® Jeffrey Voudrie provides personal, in-depth money management services and advice to select private clients throughout the USA. He’ll answer your financial question – FREE at http://www.guardingyourwealth.com

Today’s seniors are living longer than ever, but as life spans increase, so do the needs for additional care. The majority of today’s retirees will need some form of special care as they age, whether that help is delivered in their own residence, in an assisted living facility or at a nursing home. The cost of such care is skyrocketing and many find they are unable to afford it.

Our recent series of articles has discussed this situation in great detail, exposing the gap that exists between what seniors need and what government programs actually provide. The best way, by far, to fill this gap is with Long Term Care Insurance.

Long Term Care Insurance (LTCi) is an insurance policy that covers your care when you can no longer perform at least two of six daily functions. These ‘activities of daily living’ are bathing, dressing, eating, toilet use, urine and bowel continence, and getting in and out of a bed or chair.

Each LTCi policy works a little differently. Some require you to cover the first 90 days of care before coverage begins, while others waive that waiting period if the need is for in-home care. Some pay so much per day, while others pay actual expenses up to a certain amount. Some have care coordinators that arrange for all the care, so you don’t see the bills or have to handle any paperwork.

Anyone seeking to purchase LTCi has to medically qualify. The underwriters look at your health differently than if you were applying for life insurance. LTCi underwriters are more concerned about illnesses and diseases that are likely to keep you from caring for yourself, not those that will cause death. Osteoporosis and diabetes are examples.

Most companies have preferred rates for those in excellent health, with normal rates for the rest. LTCi premiums are also based on your age. That means the longer you wait the higher the premium will be. There is a two in ten chance of needing long-term care after age 50, a two in five chance after age 65, and a seven in ten chance after age 75.

As a result, it is better to buy LTCi sooner as opposed to later. This should be seen as a pre-retirement purchase. I recommend strongly considering it around age 50.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a LTCi provider. Since this coverage is so critical, only do business with insurance companies rated at least AAA or AA by Standard and Poors. Beware of companies that have just entered the market. Check how many LTCi policies they have issued. If they haven’t issued LTCi policies for at least 10 years and aren’t one of the major players, stay away.

Many companies (including some that are major household names) entered the business, only to exit it a few years later. Others don’t have the actuarial experience to properly price policies and end up raising premiums. Either way the policy holders suffer.

Don’t choose a company that has raised rates on existing policy holders. Don’t choose a plan that requires you to buy additional insurance every three years to protect yourself from inflation. It’s better to have inflation protection automatically built into the policy.

You get to choose how much coverage to buy. Don’t purchase three years of coverage just because that’s the length of the average nursing home stay. This is ridiculous! The majority of people use LTCi to remain independent, at home, as long as possible. They get LTCi because they don’t want to go into a nursing home! Get unlimited coverage if you can afford it.

In my experience, the best Long Term Care insurance is Genworth Life Insurance Company (formerly General Electric). They are the biggest kid on the block, doing LTCi business since the 1970s. No one that has purchased a policy from them has ever had a rate increase. It sets the Gold Standard in the industry.

Don’t try to save a few dollars by going with a questionable company. This is insurance that could pay back 10-100 times what it costs you. There’s a 50% chance you will use it. Don’t skimp—what you save today may cost you much more down the road.

Have a financial question? Send me an email and I’ll personally respond, free of charge. Go to http://www.guardingyourwealth.com and click on ‘Ask Jeff’.

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In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist and Certified Financial Planning Practitioner, Mr. Voudrie provides personal, private money management services to clients nationwide.

Nationally-syndicated financial columnist and Certified Financial Planner® Jeffrey Voudrie provides personal, in-depth money management services and advice to select private clients throughout the USA. He’ll answer your financial question – FREE at http://www.guardingyourwealth.com