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What is long term
care insurance?
Long
term care insurance is coverage that is
available to provide medical and other services to
patients who need constant care in their own home or
in a long term care facility.
Compare policies and benefits, a little homework
now can mean so much later.
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Long term
healthcare services...
Even though
people are living longer, more are requiring
expensive assistance in their later years. Long term
healthcare services can be provided in your home, in
an assisted living facility or in a nursing home. In
many cases the family is no longer able to provide
such care around the clock. Family members may not
live nearby, they may have other pressing family
commitments, or simply cannot get the time off work
or be away from the home.
Who needs long
term care insurance?
Long-term care is a variety of services that
includes medical and non-medical care to people who
have a chronic illness or disability. Long-term care
helps meet health or personal needs. Most long-term
care is to assist people with support services such
as activities of daily living like dressing,
bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care can
be provided at home, in the community, in assisted
living or in nursing homes. It is important to
remember that you may need long-term care at any
age.
You may never need long-term care. This year,
about nine million men and women over the age of 65
will need long-term care. By 2020, 12 million older
Americans will need long-term care. Most will be
cared for at home; family and friends are the sole
caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly. A study by
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
says that people who reach age 65 will likely have a
40 percent chance of entering a nursing home. About
10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home
will stay there five years or more.
It is very
likely that someone you know needs help with the
activities that many of us take for granted while we
are still able to perform them - eating, bathing,
dressing, etc. According to the Health Insurance
Association of America, 48.6% of people age 65 and
older may spend some time in a nursing home and
71.8% of people age 65 and older may use some form
of home health care. Additionally, less and less of
nursing home costs are paid by Medicare Part A. The
average annual nursing home cost have exceeded
$40,000 and often much more.
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A long
term care insurance policy can help protect your
assets from the rising cost of care, allowing
you to remain financially and socially independent
at home.
Long term care insurance can help secure not only your
financial future, but also that of your family. |
Lack of
preparation...
The
greatest difficulty with long term care is the lack
of preparation for the costs incurred when someone
you love requires assistance. Some people can pay
the bill out of pocket, others will qualify for
Medicaid (welfare), but most of us will fall
somewhere in the middle. We have worked hard all our
lives and now we can lose everything to a nursing
home.
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