Long Term Care Insurance Premiums Are Scaring People Away
Most people who remain without a long term care insurance policy say it is not the features of this product that they don’t like but the price that they have to pay. Long term care insurance premiums are undoubtedly scaring people away ever since the huge premium hike which leading insurance companies had imposed earlier this year on existing policies.
Careful assessment and adjustment of a potential policy, however, can make it affordable. That is why it is necessary that an individual studies the cost of care in his area first before he goes on to buy a policy. It is not enough that he memorizes the state’s median annual rates for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and in-home care because the rates of long term care (LTC) facilities vary in every city and region.
Comb your area diligently to find out how much families roughly spend for the care that their loved ones receive. Once the figures are clear to you already, visit your doctor to check your present health condition as this will help you identify the type of care that you will need in the future.
Care that is provided in a nursing home is more expensive than what is available in assisted living facilities, adult day care health centers, and those offered by home health care agencies.
You cannot, however, completely disregard a nursing home from your LTC plan because according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about 40% of the total population over the age of 65 will enter this LTC facility at some point in their lives.
Perhaps determining early on when you’ll need nursing home care will enable you to calculate your probable nursing home cost.
Basis of Long Term Care Insurance Premiums
According to LTC specialists, people receive three years of home care, on average, and stay in a nursing home for about two and a half years. Now, if you prefer to stay longer at home the result of your checkup with the doctor will determine if this is possible.
In case it reveals that you are genetically predisposed to a debilitating disease, then you should consider spending more years in a nursing home. On the other hand, if there are no such findings then your chances of receiving longer in-home care than institutional or community-based care are big.
More than the median annual rates of LTC facilities in your state of residence, it is actually your personal health care needs that should determine the amount of coverage that you will need from an LTCI policy. That said, you should pay attention to the needs of your body and don’t wait for recurring body pains, frequent palpitations and memory loss to occur before securing an LTCI policy otherwise you might end up with none.
Like the cost of care, long term care insurance premiums are expected to increase as you age so contact an insurance representative while you’re healthy and still active in the workforce to get long term care quotes. Investing in an LTCI policy will guarantee you a financially sound future apart from that much-needed LTC coverage.
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