Is Long Term Care Well Understood?
Given the statistics of residents with long term care insurance (LTCI) policies, it is apparent that 3 in 4 need more help with their long term care (LTC) planning because a greater percentage of the population still has the wrong notion.
Middle-class Americans in the workforce acknowledge that they will need LTC at some point in the future but most of them are not considering to buy an LTCI policy, thinking it could displace their finances. Buying an LTCI policy will undeniably require a substantial amount of money as it would require years of premium payment but comparing it to the actual cost of care, the former is more financially tolerable.
Uninsured Americans who are currently receiving care in nursing homes are spending $213 daily or $77,745 annually for a private room. This type of facility is intended for individuals suffering from a chronic illness and thus require 24/7 monitoring from licensed medical practitioners such as nurses and physicians. There are other LTC settings that cost less than a nursing home but these do not provide extensive medical care as nursing facilities do.
For example, elderly folks who are having difficulty managing their prescribed medications might want to consider entering an assisted living facility, which accepts senior folks aged 65 and older who require more assistance with their day-to-day living. This LTC setting has some similarities with in-home care except that residents get complete homemaker services and a variety of assistance from the staff on hand for a single monthly payment. At present, the national median monthly rate of a one-bedroom assisted living facility is $3,261 according to the 2011 Cost of Care Survey which was conducted by Genworth Financial.
Eighteen years from now the rates of all LTC facilities will quadruple following the foreboded increase in LTC costs according to financial experts. Without a clear plan for your LTC needs, be prepared to watch everything that you own dwindle down to the cost of care.
3 in 4 Need More Helpful Advice
Experts in LTC have only one advice to the public and that is to plan their future health care needs intelligently. By that they mean do not bank on your home’s equity, your retirement money, Social Security, and Medicare.
When the time comes for you to acquire care you will need more than a thousand-dollar check or a nest egg of $100,000. However, if you are expecting a billion dollars from the company that you are working for, then you are one of the lucky few.
Now if you are an average American who badly needs to keep his regular job to ensure his family’s financial security, there is no better time to look into an LTCI policy than today. It is no doubt the most sound investment that you can make for it is not only you who will benefit from it later on but the people that you love, as well.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of the population will need LTC soon. However, judging by what we can see 3 in 4 need more LTC references so that they can finally get down to planning their future.
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