Money Does Not Buy Long-Term Care Insurance
By JeRena Handy

     Insurance agents have been preaching for years “buy now while you are young and healthy”.  Long-Term Care Insurance isn’t any different from other health insurance products...you have to buy when you are insurable.
     We are all so sure we will never need Long Term Care, and that if we do, our children will take care of us.  So for that reason we procrastinate on talking to an agent about Long-Term Care Insurance.  Many times it is not until after people start to have health problems that they decide it is time to research LTC insurance.
     Yes, there are many health problems you can have and still be insurable, but your premiums will increase and may become unaffordable to you.  Of course, remember the older you are the higher the premiums are.  You may decide to just wait and buy later, but you should only do that after you fully understand all the advantages of Long-Term Care insurance, the cost and the potential consequences of waiting.
     The odds of needing Long-Term Care are 6 out of 10 and the average stay in a nursing home is 2.5 years -- the average cost can vary from between $1,200 to over $5,000 per month, and this does not include inflation.
     You think your Medicare is going to take care of you?  Think again.  Medicare covers only skilled care which is about 18% of all nursing home costs.  Medicaid is another possible answer to the long-term care crisis.  Medicaid qualification is based on meeting poverty level criteria.  In other words, it is only available to the poor.  If you are thinking you will just pass on your assets...think again!  In 1996 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act made asset transfers a crime if the transfer was made in an attempt to qualify for Medicaid.  We really don’t want Grandpa in jail.  The message is clear...personal responsibility.
     It takes enormous amounts of money to pay for long-term care needs.  Low interest rates and inflation are stripping us of our retirement and savings funds.  Many people are now wondering how they will pay if a long-term crisis were to arise, and one answer that would help this crisis is Long-Term Care Insurance.
     The points I want to make are, buy early, buy when you are insurable, and if you do decide to wait, meet with an agent just so you will know what the consequences will be.  Talk with an agent that specializes in Long-Term Care insurance and learn that money does not buy Long-Term Care Insurance; your health does.