What exactly is Long Term Care?

We usually associate it with Nursing Home Care. But it can also include someone living in an Assisted Living Facility or someone receiving Home Health Care.

While we also associate these things with the elderly, someone sick or injured at any age can need long term care.

The odds are pretty staggering that you and I will need long term care at some point. It is estimated that 50% of us will need it. If you are married and both spouses are age 65 or older, the odds increase to 75% that one of you will need long term care. And the average stay is about two years.

A private nursing home in some areas costs upwards of $65,000 per year. And this cost is steadily rising.

About the only option available to offset this enormous cost is to buy long term care insurance policy. You can hope that Medicare will take care of your needs. Unfortunately, Medicare takes care of only about 10% of long term care needs.

There is also Medicaid. But Medicaid only kicks in if you have no assets. How do you qualify for Medicaid? You must spend your own money and liquidate your own assets to pay for your long term care needs. Once you are essentially broke, then Medicaid can step in.

What if you have dreams of leaving an inheritance to the kids or other loved ones?

Those are great plans, but they can easily be derailed if you become too sick or hurt and need have long term care. A lengthy stay in a nursing home could easily leave a person in bankruptcy.

So what is the best advice?

Buy a long term care insurance policy. Get a quote. It’s Easy & Free!