Long Term Care Guide

YOUR OPTIONS DEPEND ON YOUR HEALTH

Menu

Introduction & Funding Options

 
  Your Choices Today
  
  Without long term care insurance you are self-insured.
  
 

Being self-insured leaves you and your family financially exposed to the risk that you will have to spend out of pocket for long term care.

A change of health doesn't necessarily mean you would need care, it just might mean you're now uninsurable. There are lots of people over 45 who have been diagnosed with Parkenson's, MS, or have had a mild stroke, and are now uninsurable, and many are still working.

Which of these best describes your current long term care plan:

  • Self-insured : you pay for long term care expenses out of savings after health insurance and/or Medicare stop.

  • Medicaid : state welfare health care. To qualify you must be at the poverty level or spend down your savings until you qualify. If you're a home owner Medicaid will want to be repaid from your estate for any costs they paid for your care after you die.

  • Long term care insurance : provides financial and support services for long term care. (Through us you have the largest selectioin of LTC insurers available.)

  • Life Insurance w/LTC Benefits : called "Linked Benefits" - policy has a death benefit and a LTC benefit, has underwriting. (Through us you have the largest selection of life with LTC insurers available.).

  • Annuity with Long Term Care benefits : alternative to traditional LTC insurance for those who are uninsurable, there is no underwriting. (Through us you have the largest selection of annuity providers available.) More information.


If you needed long term care, what would the financial consequences be to those you care about? Are you willing to take that chance? If uninsured, you are.


The reason people buy long term care insurance is the same reason people buy any insurance. They do it to minimize the consequences to those they care about in case something happens.

Sooner or later something is going to happen to your health. You may be lucky and not need long term care. Which are you betting on?

Let's illustrate this with a story.

Premise: According to the US Department of Health & Human Services at age 65 you will have a greater than 50:50 chance of needing long term care. The average amount of care needed is 3 years at an average cost of $73,000. A total cost of 3 x $73,000 = $219,000.

It's Your Bet
In the story you get $219,000 from your savings, stocks, retirement fund and go to a casino. At the casino you go to the roulette table. The croupier calls for bets to be made and you place your $219,000 on either Red or Black, it's a 50:50 bet (same as your long term care risk). You have just bet your $219,000. 

The croupier starts the ball spinning round the wheel, and you wait... and wait, and wait. Sooner or later the ball will drop – in 5 minutes, next week, in 10 years. Will you die without needing care and your $219,000 goes to your estate or will you spend the $219,000 on long term care? It's going to be one or the other. 

You have a chance to insure your $219,000 (with long term care insurance) but you have to decide before "the cocktail waitress arrives" (before your health changes) - and you never know when she will show up.

Sooner or later your ball is going to drop.

Will you "win" and die without needing long term care or will you spend the $219,000 on long term care (double for couples).

It's your bet, how do you want to play it? 

How much would it cost to insure $219,000 today?
It would depend on your state of residence, health, age and benefits. If you had a $150 daily benefit and a 4-year (1460 days) benefit period you would have $150x1460=$219,000 in insurance money on day one. The daily benefit increases annually with inflation protection.

You can continue to put off insuring your long term care or you can use our online quote system to get started.