Years ago, people never bothered about long term care or thought about it. As parents aged, they often relied on their children to care for them. Today, most parents do not want to burden their children with their care in their old age. And people are living to a remarkable old age as well. This is one of the reasons why you should consider long term care insurance.
What is long term care insurance? Long term care insurance allows for you to provide for your own care if you happen to become incapacitated and need long term care. As people get older, there is a 70 percent chance that they will need some sort of long term care in their lives. While part of this care can be covered by Medicare, most of it is not. This is where long term care insurance steps in. It can cover what Medicare does not instead of allowing your care to eat away at your savings.
Who should get long term care insurance? We never know what the future will bring. It is advisable for you to plan for your future as there is a good chance that you may need long term care. This involves care in a rehabilitation facility as well as an assisted living residence. Most hospitals will send patients to rehabilitation facilities as soon as they are out of danger and Medicare does not cover much of those costs. This is why it is important for anyone to get long term care insurance – to plan for their future.
What type of plans are available? Your plan will depend on your age and health. You can get a plan that will pay $150 a day for your long term health care for up to four years. One of the best aspects about this type of plan is that the money is drawn out of the pool of money set aside in the plan for your long term care. Many times, people go to rehab and then are back out. When this occurs, you do not have to continue paying and your money stays safe in your plan, ready to be used again if you need it.
You can also get an inflation option on your long term care insurance package as well. As you know, $150 years from now will not be worth as much as $150 today. For a few dollars more a month, you can get an inflation rider on your insurance package.
One way to save money for the long term care insurance package is by getting a higher exclusion period. There are exclusion periods of 30, 60 and 90 days. This is similar to a deductible on auto insurance. The longer the exclusion period, the less expensive the policy.
Long term health care insurance is something for everyone to think about, no matter what health you are in. We never can be sure of what the future holds. It is best to be prepared with long term care insurance.