Long Term Care insurance - You're never too young to get coverage
Can you afford to pay for long term care? You could spend years building your assets and creating a financial plan only to have your best hopes for a secure lifestyle ruined by a debilitating accident or illness. All that you worked for could be threatened. Your financial security that you’ve worked hard at could be at stake.
Being covered under a long term disability income plan that helps you replace lost income is a good start. However, disability benefits can not begin to cover the costs of long-term care you may require.
Care under any setting can be very expensive to pay for. For instance, the national average annual cost for a stay in a nursing home is $72,000 a year.*
Contrary to what many believe long term care is not covered by other types of insurance or public programs. You may qualify for Medicaid assistance for long term care expenses only after you’ve spent down your assets. And Medicare only covers skilled care --- most long term care services are not considered skilled care.
How to pay for long term care? For many, the safest and most reliable option available is long term care insurance. It can pay for the care that you require in a setting that best meets your needs. Whether that be a nursing home or another setting such as an adult care facility or perhaps at home with a trained personal or health aide.
Typically, benefits will be paid should the insured lose the ability to perform, without substantial assistance, two or more activities of daily living that in most cases would include bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting or transferring or the insured has a severe cognitive impairment (loss or deterioration of intellectual capacity) that means a need for ongoing help or supervision.
While considering how to best address your needs for long term care insurance coverage you should pay particular attention to the level of coverage you require and to the options offered.
If you think being prepared for the consequences of long term care are important you may wish to consider obtaining coverage while you can, when you are in good health. Also, please keep in mind the earlier you obtain coverage the more economical rates are.
*National Underwriter Life and Health, January 24, 2005.
Group Coverage is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102. (800) 732-0416. Contract Series 83500.
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