On an average assisted living costs around $3,200 per month. In other words, this would cost you more than $100 per day. This is obviously costly and not many people can afford it. Furthermore, Medicare or Medicaid does not pay for assisted living facilities. So what do you do if someone close to you needs assisted living care?
The fact is that assisted living is costly. Moreover, in future assisted living costs are only going to get higher. Studies have shown that many elderly Americans loose all their savings due to healthcare costs. According to a 2006 survey on Cost of Care by Genworth Financial, the annual cost for a private room in a nursing home costs $70,912. This is obviously way beyond the means of many elderly.
Under such circumstances Long Term Care Insurance looks like an attractive option. This would take care of your long term health care costs. LTCI has been here, for around thirty years, so it is pretty much a new thing. Right now only about 8% of Americans have LTCI. However, as assisted living costs rise, more and more people would be thinking about LTCI.
Benefits
LTCI is a bit expensive; however, there are several benefits associated with this policy.
• It can help preserve the savings and assets of your family and friends.
• Makes assisted living option affordable. Not everyone needs or wants to go to a nursing home. It gives you the option of choosing an assisted living facility.
• Helps to improve the health care services that one can receive. For example, one can choose to receive care from visiting nurses, get home delivered meals or go for home health care aides visitors programs.
• Your loved ones can be freed from the task of looking after you. With LTCI you can receive professional health care.
• Helps to maintain your financial independence. You do not have to borrow from family or friends to take care of your health.
In order to afford the assisted living costs LTCI is obviously the right choice; however, you must be careful about selecting the right policy for yourself. You need to take an informed decision. Educate yourself about the policy.
The good news is that there are many options available in LTCI policies. You need to choose a plan that meets your needs and fits your budget as well. You might need to the help of a financial advisor.
The Premium Depends On
The premium that you pay on your LTCI policy will depend on several factors:
• Your age and health is always taken into consideration. There are many companies that offer policies to people between the age of 18 and 85. The thing to remember is that your age will define the premium. The older one gets, the higher is the premium. Moreover, it is better to buy LTCI before you face any major health issues.
• Your premium will depend on the daily or monthly benefit amount that you receive.
• The premium will depend on the period for which you will be paid the benefit amount.
• Your premium will depend on the elimination period, which refers to the number of days for which you must pay for your health care before the policy kicks in.
Before you purchase a LTCI policy to cover your future assisted living costs, it is important to read and understand the entire policy. See what is covered and what is not. And most importantly, can you afford it. On the whole, it is important to remember that you might require assisted care in future and it is best to be prepared for it.