It's that time when many of us make lists of the important things we plan to accomplish in the New Year. Although it seems that every cause has a day, week or month to raise awareness, awareness of a problem isn't enough, and all too frequently devising a solution doesn’t translate into action.
That's one reason that few of us add: "make decisions regarding long-term care insurance" to our resolutions list. But there's little doubt that most of us would benefit from taking the necessary steps to safeguard our physical, mental and economic health against the rising costs of long-term care. Here’s a look.
Awareness
Recently a 51-year-old friend of mine visited an 86-year-old family friend, a retired nurse who had just moved into an assisted living facility. She had been blessed with robust health until age 84 and had been living alone in a single-family house. She had finally given up driving a couple of years earlier and had been walking with a cane.
Then she fell. A hip replacement proved to be the tipping point for her. As she went through her initial rehab in a skilled nursing facility, her adult son did some research and eventually relocated her to the assisted living facility near his home and put her house up for sale.
After the visit, my friend remarked "Everyone should attend an event at a nursing home and spend an hour with an elderly person who lives there. Seeing this frail, lovely, intelligent and well-dressed woman, I thought ‘this could be me in 30 or 40 years.’ And I'd better have a ton of money if I'm ever in that situation."
Some people mistakenly believe that their existing insurance policies, Medicare or other government programs, will cover their long-term care costs. In most cases, it won’t, and anyone watching the news knows better than to rely on the government for their physical and economic health.
Knowledge
Once you are aware of the need for long-term care planning, the next step is asking questions and acquiring information.
A good place to start may be someone who is currently caring for a family member. Ask them what kind of care they have found. Is it home- or facility-based care? What surprised them when they began looking for care? What lessons have they learned? Do the long-term care options require private payment or are they publicly financed?
Keep in mind that qualification requirements for government programs may change in the future, as can the availability of a type of care.
Then consider the sorts of care you or your loved one may need, and where you could receive that care. Call around and find out what that care costs, and what the plans look like. Gathering these pieces of information can prove to be the motivating factor that nudges a person to create a personal long-term care plan.
Funding
This brings us to the topic of funding. Long-term care insurance is not a plan or a caregiver. Long-term care insurance provides the money to fund a long-term care plan once the insured is eligible.
And care for yourself or a loved one is not inexpensive, nor is it a place to cut corners. Take a hard look at the cost of care and consider what the costs are likely to be in the future, when you would potentially need the care.
Are you comfortable with the numbers? If not, long-term care insurance is the only insurance designed to address this risk.
Even if you believe in your ability to pay for this expense, you should ask yourself if your funding plan would allow your other plans – such as providing for the income needs of a spouse, children and other loved ones, or legacy and inheritance planning – to remain intact.
Taking appropriate action, motivated by awareness, education, and a frank look at funding choices is the goal of long-term care insurance, and it doesn't have to be a complicated or unpleasant subject. Taking responsibility for your own health and welfare can help you avoid years of poverty or substandard care.
Dorothy McMahon is a Long-Term Care Insurance Specialist who has been helping baby boomers, seniors and their families plan for long-term care for many years. Reach her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCInsUSA@aol.com.
