The Importance of Considering Long Term Care Insurance Early
Over 60% of individuals age 65 and up will require at least some type of long term care services.1
Over the course of a lifetime, we save and invest to meet many goals. A comfortable retirement may include travel and time with loved ones and friends as we age gracefully and enjoy a long, full life.
Living long is a real possibility, with healthy lifestyles and advances in medicine, but statistics show there is also a great chance of needing long term care services. According to information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 60 percent of individuals over age 65 will require at least some type of long term care services during their lifetime. 1 It is important to plan ahead for this possibility because long term care services can be expensive. The average cost for one year of nursing home care, in a private room, is approximately $70,810. One year of care in your home (approximately 3 times a week) can cost about $16,000. Some other average costs of care in the United States (in 2006) were 2:
- $171/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home
- $194/day for a private room in a nursing home
- $2,691/month for care in an Assisted Living Facility (1-bedroom unit)
- $25/hour for a Home Health Aide
- $17/hour for a Homemaker services
- $56/day for care in an Adult Day Health Care Center
Your health insurance is not designed to pay for long term care services; neither is Medicare under most circumstances. However, you do have the option of purchasing a Long Term Care insurance policy, which can not only ease the financial burden of long term care services, but also offer you more control over your future. Long Term Care insurance policies help you pay for long term care services that arise unexpectedly due to a heart attack, stroke, a disabling accident or if you develop a chronic illness such as Parkinson’s disease. Of course you’ll need to check the language in your policy to understand all of your specific benefit triggers.
Planning ahead for long term care services will better enable you to protect and provide for your family by reducing the emotional and financial stress that would accompany an unexpected event or illness. Also, for many people one of the most important advantages of planning ahead is to ensure greater independence should you need care. Your ability to choose where you would like to receive care, whether that is in a facility or at home, is greater if you have planned ahead.