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Welcome
to our changing society!
In 1900, there were 75.9 million Americans. A century later,
there are 75.9 million Americans over the age of 50!
Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, we certainly
are living longer. Even if those extra years of life are
not without some need for care, the good news is our health
and personal long term care choices have expanded to include more
attractive options than ever before. Since there will be
more and more of us calling for these services and wanting
to maintain control over how and where we receive them,
we need to plan to finance these increasingly expensive
care options.
So
here we have the last piece of good news. Quality private
long term care insurance can be obtained and is surprisingly
affordable. |
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Today, long term care insurance policies offer consumers
flexible, comprehensive coverage in all current care settings.
Many plans provide for future developments in long term care
through their "alternate plan of care" provisions.
A decade ago those who purchased
long term care insurance policies were faced with very limited
options in coverage for both nursing home and home health
care. Policyholders watched as their once state-of-the-art
policies became obsolete and shut them out from coverage for
the more desirable new options in long term care that developed
in the 1990s - assisted living facilities and adult day care.
Major insurance carriers have now developed policies that
solve the problems of the past.
Most policies today are comprehensive and are fashioned
after a "pool of dollars" concept. They pay for care in any
combination of settings, in any order of need, with no requirement
for prior hospitalization. They will cover, up to certain
limits set by the insured, costs of long term care incurred
in either the community setting (home health care and adult
day care) or in facilities (assisted living facilities and
nursing homes).
The insured can choose, at time of application, the
maximum daily benefit amount that will be covered, the benefit
length, elimination period, and type of inflation protection.
The maximum daily benefit amount and benefit length together
determine the amount of dollars in the spending account for
long term care.
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Example:
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A
5-year policy at $200 per day is calculated as follows:
5 x 365 x $200 = $365,000 in the spending account.
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A lifetime
or unlimited benefit length
may also be chosen, which would give the insured an unlimited
amount of funds in the spending account. All payouts, regardless
of benefit length, are subject to the maximum daily benefit
amount.
The elimination period (same as a deductible) is the
number of days the insured will pay out-of-pocket before the
policy begins to pay for care.
The automatic inflation riders protect the daily dollar
maximums by raising the daily
limit annually while maintaining a
level premium. The policies can be customized to the insured,
taking into account the following: age, health, assets, income,
risk tolerance, etc.
Long term care insurance is filling the consumer demand
for greater security while also being family-oriented. Under
some policies, coverage is extended to provide for:
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Bed
reservation
at insured's assisted living or nursing
care facility while home for a visit or in hospital
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Training for family members
who want to provide some or all of the care
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Survivorship benefits
for the remaining spouse who, left alone, will now have
a paid-up long-term care policy
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Accelerated payment options
for those who wish a fixed term to their premium payments
(a good option for those still working)
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Changes
to the home
environment
to make it safer for the insured to remain there as long
as possible
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Greater
flexibility in who can
be paid to provide the care at home, extending in some cases
even to family members or neighbors
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Geriatric care management
for insureds and their families to get help from professionals
in lining up the care and/or equipment that's needed at
home.
Carriers
are recognizing that today's
households come in many different sizes and shapes. Some are
extending spousal discounts to committed partners and same generation
family members who are unmarried and live together.
Nationwide coverage is offered by all of the major insurance
carriers, regardless of the state where purchased. Several carriers
extend their coverage worldwide while others extend it to specified
countries.
Today's insureds can feel confident that their coverage,
once secured, will readily adapt itself to our rapidly changing
long-term care environment.
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