Many states have a "Own Your Future" campaign as part of a government effort under the auspices of Health and Human Services to promote Americans' need to be more aware of long-term care options.
Medicare does not cover the cost of many long-term care services. The private sector is expected to fill that role. It is important that people need to consider and plan for their long-term care needs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 70 percent of Americans who reach 65 or older will need some sort of long-term care services. These services are highly customizable.
Many people when they hear about long-term care or long-term care insurance automatically think about a nursing home. That is no longer true. We have so many choices today. Long-term care insurance gives you the opportunity to receive care how and where you want it. It can be in your own home, in an adult day care facility, assisted living or any number of rehabilitative options.
The point is that long-term care insurance keeps you in control of your own destiny.
To educate yourself, consult with a Long-Term Care Specialist to learn what your options are.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Why You Need to Read and Know About Long-Term Care and Aging
Without sounding too pessimistic, how are you planning on taking care of yourself and spouse if either one or both of you require long-term care? Are you aware of the costs of assisted living, nursing home or even what it costs for a caregiver to come into your home?
According to Met Life Mature Institute report and Genworth, it is wide-ranging but up to $75,000 per year per person. The cost is expected to hit a hundred thousand in the near future.
Do you have the financial means to pay $100,000 per year and still continue to maintain the lifestyle you had planned? What this means is that you will spend all of your assets on your long-term care until you are essentially broke. Then once all of your money and assets are gone, the government will step in.
As Americans are aging and the baby boomers are retiring, there will only be so much government to go around. You already hear about how social security is in trouble, plus medicare and other programs. There is no guarantee that you will benefit from any of the social programs that the government provides.
Do you want to exhaust your savings and leave no inheritance or legacy to the ones you care about? Do you want to be in charge of where you receive care? You have worked your whole life to be independent and in charge of your life.
The solution to this is to purchase a Long-Term care insurance policy when you are still healthy and of an age where the premiums are reasonable. A Long-Term care specialist will educate you first and then with your input help design a plan that works for your unique situation.
Before you purchase Long-Term care insurance, contact Long Term Care Insurance Pros for a free, no obligation, comparative quote from the top companies. For immediate assistance, call 877-GO-4-LTCi (464-5824)
According to Met Life Mature Institute report and Genworth, it is wide-ranging but up to $75,000 per year per person. The cost is expected to hit a hundred thousand in the near future.
Do you have the financial means to pay $100,000 per year and still continue to maintain the lifestyle you had planned? What this means is that you will spend all of your assets on your long-term care until you are essentially broke. Then once all of your money and assets are gone, the government will step in.
As Americans are aging and the baby boomers are retiring, there will only be so much government to go around. You already hear about how social security is in trouble, plus medicare and other programs. There is no guarantee that you will benefit from any of the social programs that the government provides.
Do you want to exhaust your savings and leave no inheritance or legacy to the ones you care about? Do you want to be in charge of where you receive care? You have worked your whole life to be independent and in charge of your life.
The solution to this is to purchase a Long-Term care insurance policy when you are still healthy and of an age where the premiums are reasonable. A Long-Term care specialist will educate you first and then with your input help design a plan that works for your unique situation.
Before you purchase Long-Term care insurance, contact Long Term Care Insurance Pros for a free, no obligation, comparative quote from the top companies. For immediate assistance, call 877-GO-4-LTCi (464-5824)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Education is Needed for Long-Term Care Insurance
No one likes to think about relying on long-term care. But the reality is that any person could fall victim to a disability or need chronic care because of aging.
New research from Mintel (Chicago), a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence suggests that many Americans are not prepared for these possibilities.
In a new report, Mintel found that less than 60% of adults are familiar with long-term care insurance. Furthermore, three-quarters (74%) do not currently have any type of long-term care coverage. Almost one in five state they don’t know why they haven’t purchased a long-term care policy or that they “don’t know anything about it.”
Overall Americans are not educated and lack the understanding that the benefits and value long-term care insurance policies offer. Many people either don’t want to confront the issue of aging or they view long-term care insurance as too expensive and unnecessary.
Mintel’s consumer survey found that cost is the primary reason people don’t purchase long-term care insurance. Forty-two percent of survey respondents said they haven’t purchased it because “it is too expensive.” Other common deterrents include the belief they won’t ever need long-term care (17%) or that its costs will be covered by Medicare or Medicaid (15%). Finally, 13% of respondents say they would like to purchase it but they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
It is important to educate the public about long-term care insurance’s value,” says Dane Petchul, Long-Term Care Specialist. Education is the first step with a client in determining whether Long-Term Care insurance is necessary for their own Long-Term Care plan.
Over two-thirds of the people surveyed who had long-term care insurance purchased policies because they didn’t want to burden others with their care. Another reason given by consumers is the preservation of assets which helps preserve their lifestyle in retirement.
Consumer education can be done from the convenience of one’s own home or office. It can be done over the telephone and internet with web screen-sharing. It is only with education that the consumer can make an informed decision in regards to his Long-Term care plan.
Stop procrastinating and get the Long-Term care information that will save you and your family from the rigors of planning for long-term care well before an event may occur.
New research from Mintel (Chicago), a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence suggests that many Americans are not prepared for these possibilities.
In a new report, Mintel found that less than 60% of adults are familiar with long-term care insurance. Furthermore, three-quarters (74%) do not currently have any type of long-term care coverage. Almost one in five state they don’t know why they haven’t purchased a long-term care policy or that they “don’t know anything about it.”
Overall Americans are not educated and lack the understanding that the benefits and value long-term care insurance policies offer. Many people either don’t want to confront the issue of aging or they view long-term care insurance as too expensive and unnecessary.
Mintel’s consumer survey found that cost is the primary reason people don’t purchase long-term care insurance. Forty-two percent of survey respondents said they haven’t purchased it because “it is too expensive.” Other common deterrents include the belief they won’t ever need long-term care (17%) or that its costs will be covered by Medicare or Medicaid (15%). Finally, 13% of respondents say they would like to purchase it but they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
It is important to educate the public about long-term care insurance’s value,” says Dane Petchul, Long-Term Care Specialist. Education is the first step with a client in determining whether Long-Term Care insurance is necessary for their own Long-Term Care plan.
Over two-thirds of the people surveyed who had long-term care insurance purchased policies because they didn’t want to burden others with their care. Another reason given by consumers is the preservation of assets which helps preserve their lifestyle in retirement.
Consumer education can be done from the convenience of one’s own home or office. It can be done over the telephone and internet with web screen-sharing. It is only with education that the consumer can make an informed decision in regards to his Long-Term care plan.
Stop procrastinating and get the Long-Term care information that will save you and your family from the rigors of planning for long-term care well before an event may occur.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Long-Term Care Insurance State Partnership Plans
About two thirds of the states have long-term care insurance partnership programs put in place for their residents. These partnership programs were designed to encourage the purchase of Long-Term Care insurance by state residents so that the states can reduce its liability for paying for long-term care costs in the future. These partnership plans are vital if the current State Medicaid (or MedI-Cal in California) are to remain solvent.
The advantage the partnership policies have to consumers is that the state acts as a safety net for them in case their care exceeds the benefits of their Long-Term care policy, and they are guaranteed that long-term care costs will not be allowed to completely wipe out all of their assets.
The basic premise of the partnership program is that it allows the purchaser of a Long-Term Care insurance policy to shelter an amount of funds equal to the amount the policy pays out in benefits and still qualify for state assistance through Medicaid, as long as he or she has exhausted all of the benefits and still needs care. This ensures that Long-Term Care insurance partnership policyholders will never have to be impoverished to receive state assistance, even if their need for care outlasts the benefits of their Long-Term Care insurance policy.
This is a clear benefit to consumers, because they no longer have to buy policies that contain lifetime benefits to ensure that long-term care costs won’t wipe out their life savings. They can choose a lower benefit period instead, perhaps three to five years, which is very adequate coverage for the vast majority of consumers.
What identifies a policy as being partnership-qualified? There are several qualifications that were outlined in the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, including the need to be federally tax-qualified and to contain the consumer protection provisions of the NAIC LTC Model Act and Model Regulation. The vast majority of policies sold today already have those provisions.However, there is one requirement that contributes more than almost any other to qualifying a Long-Term Care insurance policy for the partnership program. It must have the age-appropriate inflation protection benefit.
These requirements are as follows:
• Those age 60 or younger must have “compound annual inflation protection.”
• Those at least 61 but younger than 76 must have “some level of inflation protection.”
• Those age 76 or older must be offered an inflation protection option, but they are not required to purchase that option.
Why is inflation protection given such prominence in partnership-qualified policies? The answer is that if partnership-qualified policies don't have inflation protection, the purpose of a partnership program may be defeated.
This is because the whole purpose of the partnership program is to help relieve the financial burden of long-term care costs from the state Medicaid or Medi-Cal systems. If a consumer buys a Long-Term Care insurance policy but does not allow it to keep pace with the rising costs of care, the insufficient benefits will be more likely to force the policyholder to turn to Medicaid or Medi-Cal anyway. With very few assets left, the state will have to pick up the rest of the bill for this individual and the original intent of the program is defeated.
Long-Term Care specialists require special state certification to be able to sell the partnership plans. The long-term care specialist works for you, the client, and shows no bias towards one carrier or another. Schedule a consultation to determine which carrier, and what benefits would best satisfy your individual needs.
The advantage the partnership policies have to consumers is that the state acts as a safety net for them in case their care exceeds the benefits of their Long-Term care policy, and they are guaranteed that long-term care costs will not be allowed to completely wipe out all of their assets.
The basic premise of the partnership program is that it allows the purchaser of a Long-Term Care insurance policy to shelter an amount of funds equal to the amount the policy pays out in benefits and still qualify for state assistance through Medicaid, as long as he or she has exhausted all of the benefits and still needs care. This ensures that Long-Term Care insurance partnership policyholders will never have to be impoverished to receive state assistance, even if their need for care outlasts the benefits of their Long-Term Care insurance policy.
This is a clear benefit to consumers, because they no longer have to buy policies that contain lifetime benefits to ensure that long-term care costs won’t wipe out their life savings. They can choose a lower benefit period instead, perhaps three to five years, which is very adequate coverage for the vast majority of consumers.
What identifies a policy as being partnership-qualified? There are several qualifications that were outlined in the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, including the need to be federally tax-qualified and to contain the consumer protection provisions of the NAIC LTC Model Act and Model Regulation. The vast majority of policies sold today already have those provisions.However, there is one requirement that contributes more than almost any other to qualifying a Long-Term Care insurance policy for the partnership program. It must have the age-appropriate inflation protection benefit.
These requirements are as follows:
• Those age 60 or younger must have “compound annual inflation protection.”
• Those at least 61 but younger than 76 must have “some level of inflation protection.”
• Those age 76 or older must be offered an inflation protection option, but they are not required to purchase that option.
Why is inflation protection given such prominence in partnership-qualified policies? The answer is that if partnership-qualified policies don't have inflation protection, the purpose of a partnership program may be defeated.
This is because the whole purpose of the partnership program is to help relieve the financial burden of long-term care costs from the state Medicaid or Medi-Cal systems. If a consumer buys a Long-Term Care insurance policy but does not allow it to keep pace with the rising costs of care, the insufficient benefits will be more likely to force the policyholder to turn to Medicaid or Medi-Cal anyway. With very few assets left, the state will have to pick up the rest of the bill for this individual and the original intent of the program is defeated.
Long-Term Care specialists require special state certification to be able to sell the partnership plans. The long-term care specialist works for you, the client, and shows no bias towards one carrier or another. Schedule a consultation to determine which carrier, and what benefits would best satisfy your individual needs.
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