Long-Term Insurance Strategies
Long-Term Insurance Strategies
Long-term care is a variety of services and support to meet health or personal care needs over an extended period of time. Most long-term care is non-skilled personal care assistance helping perform everyday activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing.
Neither Medicare, nor Medicare supplemental coverage, also known as Medigap insurance, nor standard health insurance policies cover long-term care. You have limited choices to pay for long-term care:
- Pay out of pocket
- Medicaid: Must have little or no assets to qualify and only covers Nursing Home Care
- Medicare: Only covers a portion of the first 100 days for skilled care; most care needed is non-skilled
- Long-term care insurance
The cost of long-term care is staggering. According to the National Clearing House for Long-term Care Information, Health and Human Services, 2010 report, the average annual cost of nursing home care in 2009 was nearly $80,000 for a private room. For the average stay of 2.5 years, total expenditures could reach nearly $200,000. Semi-private rooms are almost as expensive at over $72,000 for a semi-private room. With the increase in life expectancies, though, this average stay could easily double.
The high costs of Long-term care make long-term care insurance an essential part of an overall financial plan. Let us help you find a policy that makes sense.