Determining Your Probable Long Term Care Costs
Have you been trying to figure out your probable long term care costs by utilizing all kinds of long term care (LTC) calculators made available online? You’ll only end up getting general figures.
It’s difficult to come up with the exact amount of money that you’ll need in the future for your health care needs if you’ll only be working with numbers. Before studying the average cost of care in your area you need to identify your LTC needs first.
If you’re starting to process your LTC plan, you have to consider what your doctor has to say first. What he will say about the present state of your health has an implication on your future health care requirements.
For example, after undergoing a general physical examination your X-ray revealed that there are patches in your lung area. This could mean pneumonia, cancer, tuberculosis, or another health issue. It’s only your doctor who can tell what these patches mean, how you acquired them, and where it can lead.
After your doctor has assessed your present health condition, ask him the specific type of care that you will mostly likely need in the future. He will then look up your family’s health history to see if you can potentially acquire a chronic disease that runs in your genes.
It’s only after you have gathered the necessary information about your present health condition, and what it takes to properly address it that you can actually canvass the rates of LTC facilities in your area.
Long Term Care Costs
Back to the example above, let’s say after having discovered the patches in your lungs and after a thorough review of your family’s health history, your doctor subsequently tells you that you have family members who succumbed to lung diseases. This should be an indication of what may befall you health-wise.
Armed with that information you can now begin to canvass rates of nursing homes in your city or town. If you’re wondering why you should look up nursing home rates when you prefer in-home care, that’s because you can potentially acquire a serious lung problem in the future which will require 24-hour medical care and supervision.
Now if your doctor did not find anything that may damage your health overtime, you’ll be free to settle for in-home care.
Proper LTC planning entails complete details of your health condition and possible health care requirements. If you will just base your LTC plan on the average cost of care in your state of residence, you might outlive your resources or spend more than what you’re supposed to.
After having identified your LTC requirements, find out how much it will cost you to avail the type of care that will address these needs. Check the average cost of care in the city where you live instead of relying on statewide LTC costs because the figures vary according to area and accessibility to LTC facilities or services.
Since long term care costs increase every year, it will do you good to take the 5% annual inflation into account as you compute the total LTC expenses that you may incur 30, 40 or 50 years down the road.
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