Our great country is filled with skilled medical professionals and scientists that continually increase our life expectancy every day. The fantastic news related to their efforts: we all have an opportunity to live longer. The bad news related to their efforts: we all have an opportunity to live longer. This statement, although meant to be lighthearted, should focus many who have reached the age of 40 or more toward a very important question. How will we pay for any type of extended care if we are fortunate enough to live into our 80’s or 90’s and beyond?
I am a Long Term Care Specialist. I have the distinct pleasure of helping people protect their independence, their hard-earned savings, and their plans for their nest eggs against the risk of long term care costs. Many people would probably be stunned to find out the costs associated with long term care, and unfortunately, those costs will continue to rise. The average cost of a year of Nursing Home Care in the Piedmont is in excess of $62,000 per year, for a semi-private room. Assisted Living Facilities will cost at least $29,000 per year, and Home Health Care services average $17 per hour, many with at least four hour service minimums per visit.
Many people I speak with have worked extremely hard to build their retirement savings, and they have plans for that money (travel, charitable donations, gifts to children and grandchildren, etc.). How would you feel about cutting out some of those dreams to pay for long term care services? Would it make sense to spend a fraction of those hard earn savings to protect your family against the catastrophic costs of long term care? Did you know that almost 1 out of every 2 Americans will need some form of Long Term Care in their lifetime? These are the hard questions many people will need to face, and unfortunately, Medicare and Medicaid will not provide the extent of coverage many people think will be offered by our government.
Your health insurance or Medicare and your supplement do not pay for this on-going cost of care (past 100 days of skilled care). If you are under 65 and have a disability policy from an employer, it will only replace a small portion (normally 60%) of your salary till age 65. That doesn’t come close to solving the problem. If you exhaust all your assets (or have none to start with) then the medical welfare program (Medicaid) will provide care in a public-aid facility, not in your home. Your hard earned assets … gone.
My hope is for my family, friends and neighbors to take a long hard look at Long Term Care Insurance. Fortunately, many states, including North Carolina, have similar hopes. They are drafting, or have enacted, Partnership Legislation that will offer additional asset protection to those proactive planners who purchase Long Term Care Insurance. I hope everyone who reads this article is able to take full advantage of the hard work of our medical professionals and scientists. Live a long, happy life, independent of the stress and hardship related to costs associated with Long Term Care.
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