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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Long-Term Care Insurance-Helps Supplement Retirement Savings

With the collapse of the stock market, the once healthy nest eggs have left baby boomers and many retirees unable to pay for long-term care costs. It may take years to recoup the losses to their stock portfolio. The average cost for a year’s stay in a nursing home is $77,000.00. Older investors may now be short of funds for costly long-term medical care if their health fails.

Many retirees and workers nearing retirement have counted on retirement savings to effectively self insure against health-care expenses that are not covered by Medicare, such as at-home care, assisted-living and nursing home facilities.

This is a good time to take a first or second look at long-term care insurance. When looking into long-term care insurance, it is important to consult with a long-term care specialist. An independent agent who represents the top carriers will show no bias toward one company or another.

Many retirees and workers nearing retirement have counted on retirement savings to effectively self insure against health-care expenses that are not covered by Medicare, such as at-home care, assisted-living and nursing home facilities.

It important to purchase long-term care insurance when you are young and in reasonably good health. Most people are not aware of the health underwriting that goes along with applying for this insurance. This has to be part of your retirement planning. This is insurance that will not be utilized for 20-30 years from the time you first purchased it.

There are many factors that need to be considered before applying for long-term care insurance. In most cases, if you are in reasonable good health you can expect to be approved for long-term care insurance. Some of the most common reasons why a person could be declined for long-term care insurance include health conditions such as: multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Alzheimer’s or dementia, muscular dystrophy and certain aggressive and metastatic cancers.

A knowledgeable long-term care specialist will be honest in assessing your candidacy for long-term care insurance with regard to your individual health condition. He/she will know the differences between the carriers. What one carrier may allow, another carrier will automatically decline.

It important to consider that your health rating buys long-term care insurance, but your money pays for it. Without good health, you may not be able to get long-term care insurance at any price.

For more articles and resources, Visit LongTermCareInsurancePros

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