Introduction to Long Term Care Insurance
If you’re anything like me, and many other HBO-loving Americans, you have seen a few episodes of “The Sopranos.” Ok, if you’re anything like me you’ve sat down and watched marathons of the show on DVD for weeks at a time, but that’s besides the point. There are a few of the mobster’s mothers who have to be cared for in assisted living and nursing home, and they are not shy about mentioning how much that type of care is costing them to pay for. Even if you’ve never seen a minute of this show and don’t have anyone in your life who needs long term care, it can’t be hard to imagine that it costs an arm and a leg.
Factor in the cost of the room combined with availability of medical services and round-the-clock attention and you can understand why a year’s worth of care in a private room back in 2007 cost $74,806. If you are looking into long term care insurance to help cover these astronomical costs for a member of your family, there are a lot of things to know and consider.
If You Are Considering Long Term Care Insurance…
Like all types of health insurance, looking into long term care coverage requires a good amount of research and planning. One thing to look at initially is if you or the person paying for the coverage have the money to cover things out of pocket without insurance. You may think that you do, but be very realistic about the costs of a long term care facility, because you don’t want to see your savings fund depleting rapidly before your very eyes.
Insurance may still cost money out of pocket, but if you take time to pick a great insurance plan, so many costs can be covered for you. On the subject of money, if the person who will be receiving long term care insurance relies on Social Security for their income, they will easily qualify for Medicaid and should not be looking for long term care insurance. If the individual qualifies for Medicare or Medicaid, these services can be used to supplement regular health insurance to help cover the costs of long term care.
Premiums for long term care insurance can be pricey. This is one main reason why people replying on Social Security should look to government programs versus private insurance. However, if you know that the person can handle paying these premiums for the rest of their life or you’re footing the bill and you can handle it, long term care insurance may be the way to go. This keeps you or your family member from replying on the government to take care of them as they age.
photo credit: Daneel Ariantho
Tags: assisted living, insurance, long term care coverage, long term care insurance, nursing homes, retirement
