A survey by the Center for Aging Research and Education shows that only seven percent of baby boomers in America have purchased the insurance to cover the long term health care needs that may be in their future. That failure could result in individuals risking their assets they’ve spent a lifetime accumulating, their choice of where they receive care, or their independence.
Planning for long term care is very important. It is different from traditional medical care. Long term care is generally expected to last at least 90 days, and may include custodial care. This is assistance with daily activities. These are activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting and travel. This may be at one’s home or in a community-based facility, assisted care facility incapacitated.
The Agency for Health Care Policy and research did a research study. This study stated that some 42 percent of Americans who reach the age of 70 can expect to require some form of long term care during the remainder of their lives. And if they don’t have the proper insurance, then they may not be able to afford it. In other cases where nursing home care is required, with the cost of a year in a nursing home averaging $54,900 per year nationwide, it won’t take long for most people to deplete their assets accumulated over a lifetime to cover the cost. Bills can be huge, and hourly fees can range from $20 per hour and up. Without the proper insurance, people may not be able to afford this coverage.
Many people assume that if they need assisted living that the government will take care of them. This is unfortunate because many times it won’t. Medicare only pays for a limited time for a stay at a nursing home. And this is after a qualifying hospital stay. There are also co pays that are the responsibility of the recipient after a certain amount of days. There is a point though that you may be responsible for the entire cost. And medical is not always available. Sometimes you have to exhaust all your personal resources before getting medical coverage. And don’t expect the government to help much with newer forms of long term care. Though some states pay for some assisted living, the programs are small, covering very few people. Medicare covers only limited home care. Seniors are increasingly paying their long term care bills out of their own pocket because they lack coverage or because they didn’t know that they didn’t have coverage.
These conclusions are just some of the reasons of how very important it is that people diagram properly for their long term care needs. It helps demonstrate how precious long term care insurance can be for many individuals. Long term care also has many other benefits that can help many people. Instead of letting a government program make your mind up of which care to provide to individuals, long term care insurance may provide the funds an human being needs to make their own choice about where they receive covered care and what kind of care they get. Long term care insurance may help make available the funds to help pay for the necessary care. It also helps while also helping ensure that the responsibility for as long as care will not fall to their family. These choices may also help preserve financial autonomy and a persons’ self-respect.
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