During my adult life, whenever I have thought about long term care (LTC), it was always with my mother or my in-laws in mind. I always thought that it would be them who would need an extended stay in a long term care facility, and that I was young and didn’t have to worry about things like that for myself. My recent stay of thirty four days in the hospital has changed my thinking about that.
Although I am only sixty years old, I have to face the fact that I (and my husband) am getting closer to that age group every day. I am also facing the facts that you don’t have to be a certain age to be a candidate for a nursing home. You never know what is going to happen to you tomorrow, that will change your life forever.A stroke could render you helpless, a fall could cause a broken hip, alzheimer’s can take a huge toll on you, and put a lot of stress on a spouse or adult children trying to work to make a living and provide care for someone they love.
I tell myself that I have four children, and that they would be more than willing to take me in and take care of me if I were to be to the point where I can’t take care of myself. I could be right, but I could just as well be kidding myself. While my son and daughters may be willing, they may not be able to provide the care I would need on a long term basis. I know they love me, but they have families and jobs and lives of their own. An incapacitated parent can be a financial and emotional drain on anyone.
So, what are the options for someone if they need long term care? How do you decide if you need an assisted living facility or a nursing home? And how am I going to pay for it? According to the the Department of Health and Human Services, 40% of people who reach age 65 will need to have some form of long term care. Long Term Care Insurance is a way to help pay for the care you need if you have a chronic illness or disability and need help with the activities of daily life.
Assisted living is often viewed as the best of both worlds. Residents have as much independence as they want with the knowledge that personal care and support services are available if they need them. Assisted living communities are designed to provide residents with assistance with basic ADLs (activities of daily living) such as bathing, grooming, dressing, and more. Some states also allow assisted living to offer medication assistance and/or reminders. Assisted living communities differ from nursing homes in that they don’t offer complex medical services.
A nursing home, or convalescent home, provides residential care for people who require constant nursing care and have significant problems with activities related to daily living. Skilled nurses are available 24 hours a day. The residents of nursing homes typically are elderly and younger adults with physical or mental disabilities. The residents of this type of facility may receive physical, occupational or other therapies following an accident or illness.
Lots of people believe that Medicaid will pay for their long term care needs. But Medicaid programs are in trouble funding-wise in every state. In the future Medicaid may become even harder to qualify for. Medicare covers only about 50 percent of most beneficiaries’ health-care costs and doesn’t reimburse for long-term care. If you don’t plan for LTC, you may have limited or no choices to pay for care when your health changes. And you never know when that might be.
So, what can you do? A Long Term Care insurance policy will help provide the care you need, when you need it. To find out an approximate cost of a long term care policy, check out Genworth Financial’s LTC Insurance Calculator. I did, and found that for my age, I could be insured for long term care for as little as $1650 a year. Compared to the cost of long term care in a skilled nursing facility, that is a bargain. And, the younger you are, the less your policy is going to cost. You are never too young to prepare for your future!
This is a sponsored post for Genworth Financial. Opinions and the ideas expressed are my own. For more information about long term care insurance and different types of life insurance visit the Genworth Financial website.
Gaelyn says
July 24, 2012 at 12:00 pmIt’s a scary thought, but true. That’s not a bad price. My Mom’s assisted living was almost $3,000/mo.
Emily says
July 24, 2012 at 7:47 pmI would like to think that I/we would be able to take care of you if that time comes but there are certainly health issues that are more difficult to deal with than others. I am glad you looked into LTC. Love you Mom! <3
Rachel says
July 25, 2012 at 2:14 amThat really is a great price.
As I approach 40, my husband and I are talking more and more about things like this and what exactly we need to prepare for our future.
Nicole Robinson says
July 25, 2012 at 6:12 amIt’s great that you are considering long term care and the pricing sounds exceptional. As Dave Ramsey says, a stay in a long term care facility can crack and scramble a nest egg.
Jenn @therebelchick says
July 25, 2012 at 9:02 amI used to work with a financial advisor, and I learned a long time ago how important LTC is! I wish my parents would start thinking about this!
Kelly says
July 25, 2012 at 4:13 pmIt is insane how expensive living in a nursing facility can be. Long-term care is something I talk to my parents about and they ignore me. I know when Mr. Bejelly and I are in our 50s I’m going to start looking at policies.
Beth says
July 25, 2012 at 7:08 pmI play for a long term policy/fund through my employer. This reminds me that I need to add my husband to that coverage next open enrollment. It is a nice set-up because if I ever leave the company that is the one coverage/policy I can take with me. Thanks for the reminder because open enrollment will be here before I know it!
(BTW I started paying into this fund when I was 22 so you never really can be too young to think about it!)
Mandy says
July 25, 2012 at 11:51 pmIt’s great coverage to have. Quotes around where I live start at around $3000 a month.
Kim L says
July 27, 2012 at 1:44 amI know this is a hard subject to think about, but we all one day will have to face this reality. My mom lives with me and I will be her caretaker when that time comes. Right now she is still working and fine, but we have had the talk about what she wants if something happens. I know this does not always work for some families and assisted living is the option. My grandmother was in a nursing home for a couple of years before passing and they took her house after her death. She had some insurance, but not enough to cover her care. This is definitely something I have been thinking about getting.
Glad your feeling better now Karen. Insightful and very thought provoking post. Thanks.
Henrietta says
July 27, 2012 at 10:52 amThis is such an important subject and one that so many people just don’t think about, myself included. That does seem like a small amount to ensure your future care!