A long-term care insurance policy helps cover your healthcare costs. You can apply for one if you have a chronic medical condition, a disability, or a severe cognitive impairment problem such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Waiting until you hit 50 or 60 isn’t an option when healthcare costs continuously rise. Whether long-term care insurance is the right choice depends on your overall situation and preferences.
This blog post is all about the four essential factors of long-term care insurance.
Why Should you Buy Long term Care Insurance?
According to the U.S. Administration of Community Living, a person turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of requiring some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years of life.
Women need care longer than men since, according to statistics, they tend to live longer.
To date, Medicare has no coverage for inpatient nursing stay or confined-time home care. It also doesn’t provide psychiatric help or custodial care like daily supervision. And Medicaid can only come to your rescue if you belong to the low-income category or you’ve exhausted your savings.
At the end of the day, it’s every man for himself since, in most states, you have to pay for your own care.
However, long-term care insurance in Washington statehas recently taken a new direction. As of 2022, a 0.58% tax cut from employee payroll will provide insurance for seniors. And residents will be able to reap benefits starting 2025.
Say you want to get long-term care insurance. What exactly do you need to look for?
Here are four factors that will make your decision easier.
Daily Benefit Amount
If you’re planning to live in a retirement facility, the cost of care will make a difference.
In 2016, a study done by the U.S.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated that the average national cost for a private nursing home room is around $225 per day. However, you should remember that these costs vary from state to state and within a particular state/region.
Another thing to consider is your primary financial resources, such as retirement income or savings. Do you have any money set aside that could help finance some part of your care?
If you don’t, then try to establish a financial plan to secure your future out-of-pocket costs.
Amount of Inflation Protection
Millennials constantly joke about vastly different things during their parents’ generation. If you compare the prices of houses in the 80s vs. now, you’ll see a staggering difference, and nursing homes are no exceptions.
That’s why inflation protection is an essential policy feature to consider. The American Council of Life Insurers or A.C.L.I. states that nursing home rates are expected to increase 5% each year.
Decide on the type of inflation protection to buy by consulting a tax advisor or a financial advisor. The last thing you need is to sign up for a plan that will take away more than it will provide you.
Length of Benefit Payments
How much coverage do you need?
Generally, the longer the coverage period, the more expensive the premiums. According to government estimates, the average stay in a nursing facility is 2.4 years, but some patients remain much longer.
An insurance commissioner might recommend buying lifetime benefits while others feel comfortable with five to eight years.
Another crucial factor to consider is family health. For example, suppose a close family member has a history of Alzheimer’s disease, resulting in many years of long-term care. In that case, you want to consider a more extended benefit period.
Current Age
Typically, the younger you opt for lifetime coverage, the less expensive the premiums are.
You can pay your premiums over a specific period, like ten years or so.
Alternatively, you can pay for the remainder of your life, granted you still want to take advantage of the life insurance policy until you get pretty old.
