LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE
Long term care (LTC) is assistance or supervision you may need when you are unable to do some of the basic activities of daily living (ADLs), including bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring. You also may need help because of a severe cognitive impairment that can be caused by Alzheimer’s disease or other brain disorders.
HOW CAN LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE HELP?
Long term care can be provided at home, in the community, or in an assisted living or nursing facility. You may qualify for long term care insurance benefits if you can’t perform two ADLs by yourself for at least 90 days, or if you require substantial supervision after suffering from a severe cognitive impairment. Long term care insurance is unique – you pay for it with your money, but you buy it with your health. One in five people will not be able to qualify for long term care insurance because of one health reason or another. To ensure that you are not one of those people, it is imperative that you look into this type protection around the age of 40 and up to 75 years of age. The younger and healthier you are, the better chances of coverage and lower rates.
Long term care insurance is designed to be customized to help accommodate individual needs. Meeting with a PNW Insurance Services long term planning specialist helps determine your personal options, as there are many things to consider and the specialist can help define your individual needs.
HELPING TO CLOSE THE GAP
Long term care insurance can help close the gap of rising long term care costs. Those that believe that they can self-insure probably can today with where the costs are now. However, people need to understand that there is an inverse correlation as people are living off their estates during retirement, their ability to self-insure continues to decrease as the cost of long term continues to increase. With a long term care policy that is systematically growing over time following close behind the rising costs of long term care, people are able to retire and having the necessary plan in place if a long term care situation were to occur.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
Where would you want to receive your care?
Who could care for you?
Where would the money come from to pay for your care?
How long could you afford to do this?