Long Term Care Insurance
Medicare generally does not pay for Long Term Care costs. It has limited benefits for a short time after a hospital confinement but will not continue paying for care over the long term. Home Health care and Nursing Home costs must be paid out of your own individual funds. This money is usually the funds you've set aside for retirement. Medicaid often requires that the beneficiary exhausts all but their exempt and unavailable assets before they will assist in your long term care costs. But then it is on their terms and at locations that accept Medicaid's limited payments.
The average costs in the United States are:
• $198/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home
• $219/day for a private room in a nursing home
• $3,131/month for care in Assisted Living Facility (1-bdrm unit)
• $21/hour for a Home Health Aide
• $19/hour for a Homemaker services
• $67/day for care in an Adult Day Health Care Center
(cited from www.Longtermcare.gov - 2009 statistics)
Not many retirement accounts are prepared to withstand that amount of financial drain. This is where Long Term Care Insurance can help. Today's policies can pay whether you stay in your home or reside in an Assisted Living facility or a Nursing Home. Insurance generally will pay for your care, up to the limits preset in the policy, often beginning when you are unable to perform certain Activities of Daily Living or cognitive impairment. Today there are life insurance policies with an acceleration of benefits and extension of benefits for Long Term Care coverage.
The basic Activities of Daily Living are: Eating; Bathing; Dressing; Transferring from Bed to chair, and back; Voluntary control of urine and bowels; and Toileting (using the bathroom).
Plans can be designed to fit most budgets. Remember some coverage will be very helpful even if it doesn't pay 100% of your costs.
