Long Term Care



With improvements in modern medicine our life expectancies are increasing. Compounded by changes in our family structures, the need for long term will continue to increase.

One report from the Department of Health Services says one out of two Americans over the age of 65 will need some form of long term care. The annual average cost is more than $70,000 and the average length of stay is 30 months. Such costs can significantly cut into the assets you are depending on in retirement. Never before has the risk of outliving your money been as great as it is today. One of the best ways to transfer this risk is to purchase long term care insurance.

Long-term care (LTC) is defined as a need for assistance with some of the activities of daily living (often called ADLs). ADLs include functions that most of us perform each day, like eating, bathing, using the bathroom, dressing, transferring and maintaining continence. The need for assistance may be due to physical inability or mental impairment, such as memory loss, Alzheimer's or dementia.

The reason to own long-term care insurance is to protect your assets in case you need to pay for assisted living, in-home care or a nursing home stay. Long-term care insurance helps you pay for these services, which is very expensive and, over time, can be financially devastating.  Having a LTC policy also ensures that you can make your own choices about what long-term care services you receive and where you receive them. 

If you needed long-term services, what financial resources could you call on?  Do you have the necessary savings to pay for home health care for six months, a year or longer?  What if you needed full-time care provided by an assisted living facility or a nursing home?

Contact me to help determine what coverage would be most suitable for you.