What Long-Term Care Insurance Can Do for You

• Long-term care insurance is a type of insurance developed specifically to cover the costs of long-term care services, most of which are not covered by traditional health insurance or Medicare.
  
  Long term care insurance will actually keep you out of a nursing home. After you've had an event and you're either discharged from the hospital or you're finding yourself slowing down and you need a little bit of care at home, this allows you to have a person come in to provide a little bit of assistance while you take a shower, get dressed in the morning, help you cook food, etc."
  
  It is important to consider the following:
• Don't buy out of fear or emotion.
• Don't buy more insurance than needed.
• Don't buy too little insurance. That will only delay the use of owned assets or income to pay for care.
• Look carefully at the policy. There is no "one-size-fits-all" policy.
• Does the policy pay only for room and board in a facility? If so, plan for other expenses, such as supplies, medications, linens, and other things that may not be covered.
• It costs less to buy coverage for younger people. The average age of someone buying long-term care insurance today is about 57.
• Make sure that buying the long-term care insurance policy is a sound financial decision and affordable.
• Look at different options and talk with a Long-Term Care Specialist before making a decision.