Am I Really Safe?
The Basics:
Why Long Term Care Insurance is Financially Nesessary
Long Term Care insurance (LTCi) provides money for ongoing personal care in your own home, an assisted living apartment, or in a nursing home. But, this important and frequently necessary type of care is not covered by Medicare, Major-Medical, Medicare Supplemental insurance, HMO'S, or hospital plans. Such plans only cover "medically necessary Skilled Level care" for a short time at a nursing home or convalescent center. They generally do not provide for personal care, such as help with eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring, (known as Activities of Daily Living, "ADL's") in your own home, and they don't cover care at Assisted Living Apartments--only short term care in a nursing facility.
Long term care is the big gap that you have to cover out of pocket, and the cost of care runs about $70, 000. to over $100,000. yearly, with inflation raising the costs about 5% annually.
That's why each year over a million American families lose their savings, their equity, and their financial assets to the cost of Long Term Care for themselves or a loved one.
Over 7 million Americans have purchased Long Term Care Insurance to protect themselves, and their heirs, from the devastating cost of convalescent and chronic personal care!
Your Family Can Help!
Families are often capable of doing amazing things to help their loved ones. For example, some adult children give up their jobs or take extended leaves of absence to care for a parent. Sometimes a parent needing some assistance with activities of daily living will move into a son's or daughter's home. There are many ways in which family members make enormous sacrifices of time and money to help the one's they love.
Many people with chronic health problems truly prefer to stay at home, despite the challenges they may face. Usually their family members have to provide the help they need on a daily basis. These tasks typically include: helping you bathe and dress, help with toileting, food shopping and preparing your meals, doing your laundry and house cleaning, changing the bed linens, providing transportation to doctors and therapists, helping with medication reminders , taking care of house maintenance and repairs, etc.
But these commitments can often cause difficulties for long term caregivers; creating loss of privacy, financial hardships or strain in their personal lives and marriages, or eventually causing physical exhaustion. The term sandwich generation refers to people who are struggling to meet the needs of both their chilren and their parent(s), often while working a full time job. Regardless of how much these people do for their parents or children, they often feel guilty about being unable to do everything needed. That's why Long Term Care insurance is so important to both the caregivers and those receiving care--nobody wants these problems to occur in their family!
Long Term Care Insurance Helps Families!
Long Term Care insurance (LTCi) provides the kinds of help that families really need. LTCi can pay for therapists, nurses and nurse's aides to take care of you at home, or perhaps in a child's home, so that he/she can work, visit friends, go shopping, take care of personal needs or visit with their children, etc. The insurance pays for your care 7 days a week, during the hours of your choice.
LTCi can also pay for a nearby "Assisted Living Apartment" so that you and your chilren can maintain your privacy, yet readily enjoy each other's company. These apartments provide a large menu of personal care services, such as; laundry, house cleaning, changing bed linens, fully prepared meal selection, transportation, medication monitoring, social events and activities, etc., all included in the cost that is payable by LTCi.
At times you may require higher levels of care than assisted living facilities can provide, and your family may not have the expertise needed for your care. Then, a convalescent center or nursing facility may be the best answer, unless you recover sufficiently to return home or to assisted living. Long Term Care insurance also pays for nursing facilities, relieving your family of a large financial burden.
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