Long Term Care – Is It Right For You?

In New Jersey a lot of fuss has been made about popular long term care insurance. With climbing premiums, sometimes tight-fisted payouts, and more and more insurers closing shop, is long term care insurance really right for you?

It’s true that the United States is severely lacking affordable care for the elderly. It seems as though Medicare is limiting its coverage with every passing day and medical expenses are growing faster than ever. The most costly care comes in the final stages of life when assistance in the activities of daily living (eating, walking, bathing, toileting) is needed. The average cost of a nursing home in New Jersey is nearly $150 per day!

In order to combat the high cost of nursing homes and professional in-home care insurance companies developed what is called a “long term care insurance plan.” These plans seek to indemnify the cost of your care if you are ever confined to a nursing home or need professional care at home. Truth be told, without this insurance you are looking at paying between $30,000-80,000 per year for a nursing home.

That is a large bite for most senior families with a fixed income who may loose a life savings in just a couple of years.

If you can not afford to pay for a nursing home you are allowed to “spend down” you assets by turning over your savings and assets (like your home) to the government. In return they will provide you room in a medicade nursing facility. Medicade facilities are not known for their glory and are certainly not a place that most people would choose to spend their last days.

The options are grim. Take your chances with your health and hope you never need to enter a nursing home or reduce your income to pay for long term care insurance. Below are some factors that can help you to decide weather or not long term care insurance is right for you. It is important that you talk with your insurance professional about your long term care options so that you can make a guided decision.

• What is your family’s history with long term care? – If you have had an immediate family member who has needed to be in a nursing home your risk increases greatly. If Alzheimer’s disease or any other degenerative illness is in your family this coverage is probably right for you.

• Can you afford it? – Make no mistake, the coverage is great but only if you can afford it. The best thing to do would be to request a quote before moving on it any further.

• What were you going to do with your assets? – If you planned on bequeathing your assets to family, friends, loved ones, or a charity long term care expenses could greatly impair your ability to do just this. The money you have socked away for your grand kids may quickly go toward your medical care if you are not careful.

• How old are you? – It is cost prohibitive to consider this coverage if you are under 55 years old unless you have a long family history of illness that leads to a nursing home. Generally you should be considering this coverage between the ages of 55-65. After 65 the premiums climb greatly. Remember it becomes harder and harder to get coverage the older your get.

These questions are great starting places to begin your search for long term care insurance. Another important thing to consider is the actual insurance company. A lot of little companies have been entering New Jersey due to the high premiums of long term care insurance. Only stick with the major insurance companies with high ratings (AA or higher).

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