Long Term Care

Since I am involved with seniors and the health care system to the degree I am through my company, Seniors Consulting, I am concerned about getting long-term care insurance.

In the future, I am sure that the responsibility for paying for a seniors’ care will increasingly fall to the seniors and their families. Even now many families do not have the financial resources to assist with the care of their elderly parents. Future seniors should not plan to rely on their families to contribute to the cost of their care. The future seniors to whom I am referring are people who are currently 65 years of age and younger, although it is not too late for the current seniors to get long-term care insurance.

As with most types of insurance, the premium price increases as the person gets older. Also, the likelihood of qualifying for the insurance decreases as health conditions increase with age. We are living longer and need to be able to deal with the financial burden for medical treatment, health care and quality of life. There is a real chance that we might need to enter a long term care facility or receive special medical attention, especially towards the end of our lives.
Depending on the level of care you may want or need, the cost may not be paid by your government health plan. Many families are now realizing the amount of care that an elderly parent requires.

As we age we should be prepared to have the resources to pay for our care whether it is in our home or in a long term care facility. There will also likely be fewer people available to care for us, so that may be another cost to get skilled people to care for us.

Long-term care insurance helps cover the costs of the services and support necessary to maintain the day-to-day care should a chronic illness or cognitive impairment keep you from being able to perform the activities of daily living. Some examples of the activities of daily living are dressing, feeding, toileting, transferring, continence and bathing. Or we may need continual supervision because of deteriorated mental ability. Homemaking services are meal preparation, cleaning and laundry.

Even if you do have family available to assist, many seniors do not want their children to help them with toileting or bathing. Care may be provided in the home, the community or in a facility that provides long term care.  A long term care facility has services performed by or under the continual supervision of a physician or registered nurse in the facility 24 hours a day. The long-term care facility must be the insured person’s primary place of residence while they remain physically dependent.
Various insurance companies offer long-term Care insurance, each with its own options. Now is the time to research long-term care insurance. Younger people should also consider this insurance as they would more likely qualify and their premiums would be lower.

Article by, Sharen Marteny, CPCA