| Long-term
care insurance: Long-term care insurance
is a contract between you and an insurance company that helps provide
protection against the cost of long-ter care. In exchange you pay
annual premiums taht are based on your age and health at the time
you buy the policy. Typically, the your you are, the lower your
premium. Lont-term care insurance should not be confused with Medicare
supplement insurance, which helps pay some of the cost that Medicare
doesn't cover, such as hospital deductibles and doctor bills. Medicare
supplement policies do not cover long-term care costs. Insurance
companies typically pay benefits when you are unable to perform
activities of daily living, or "ADL's" such as bathing,
dressing and eating without assistance. The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act gives some federal
tax advantages for certain long-term inurance policies, allowing
you to deduct some or all of your insurance premiums as a medical
expense.
|
| Myths about long term
care insurance....... |
Myth
1:
I don't need long-term
care insurance because the government will pay.
|
| Reality: Not true.
|
| Medicare pays for acute care needs
such as hospital stays and physician visits. It only pays for
skilled nursing home stays following hospitalization. Medicare
also limits help at home primarily to those who need skilled
nursing care and rehabilitative therapy. Medicaid long-term
care programs primarily pay for the poor and thosse who use
up their financial resources. Most Americans pay for long-term
care out of their own pockets. |
Myth
2:
I don't need long-term
care insurance because my family will take care of me.
|
| Reality: Family
sizes are shrinking. |
| Family members live farther apart, and more
women are working outside of teh home. As a result, family members
may not be available as 70 million baby boomers reach old age.
And eve if theya re available, most of us would rather not be
a burden to our family members. |
Myth
3:
I don't need long-term
care insurance because can save on my own. |
| Reality: It
is costly and challenging to self-fun long-term care. |
According to the American Council
of Life Insurance, a two-year nursing home stay could cost about
$500,000. Therefore, a 45-year-old would have to save about
$3500 per year for 40 years, and achieve a 7% annual return,
to fund the expense at age 85.
Can you save for your retirement, pay for your children's college
education and save for your long-term care needs? |
.Myth
4:
I cannot afford to purchase
long-term care insurance. |
| Reality: Long-term
care insurance is more affordable then you think |
| Annual premiums could be less then
$500 per year, depending on your age, medical history and the
degree of coverage that you seek |
|
| Assess the risks........ |
| You have one in 1200 chance
of losing everything in a house fire. Is
your home insured? |
| You have one in 240 chance
of experiencing a major auto accident.
Would you drive without car insurance? |
| But you have about a one in two chance
of needing long ter care at some point in your life.
Did you cover the one thing most important..YOU? |
| |
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|
|
Charlotte
Stevens raised five children and then resumjed her career
in teaching She and her husband, Rover, an engineer, created
a stable home life for their family, put all of their kids
through college, and still managed to save enough for their
retirement. They built up a $1 million nestegg through a combination
of mutual funds and vaiable annuities. |
Charlotte and Robert both enjoyed good health
into their 60's, and they were beginning to think about their
future. But the idea of also saving for sojmething like nursing
hojme care was overshelming. Fortunately, they were able to
buy long'term care insurance at a reasonable premium becasue
they were still in excellent health shen they bought the policy.
Last year, at age 75 Charlotte became ill with Alzheimer's disease
and needed to enter a nursing home at a cost of $50,000 per
year. For Robert, Charlotte's illness was hearbreaking. Fortunately,
his long-term care policy saved him from financial pain as well. |
| Total premiums paid:10,000 |
| Total projected long-term care costs: $250,000 |
| |
You
need to be prepared for anything.... |
Make
a confidential
and personalized appointment today!
Representing numerous top
rated companies.
727-541-2173
727-541-1704 fax
silversgold@aol.com |
|
| Expected
lifetime long-term care costs by age and gender. |
Age |
Male |
Female |
55-64 |
$66,849 |
$157,039 |
65-69 |
56,895 |
124,370 |
70-74 |
52,421 |
107,555 |
75-79 |
49,594 |
96,044 |
80+ |
48,145 |
86,645 |
|
Stats from Americans for
Lont-Term Care Security. (www.ltcweb.org) |
| |
| Lois and Gary Matthews
had the world by the tail. Both were in successful careers,
she is a |
 |
bankruptcy
lawyer and he is an orthodontist. Their children went to the
best schools in town. They took family vacations every six
months. |
Because they were in thir mid-40's, the possibilities
of a long-term disability seemed unlikely. But Lois, through
her proffession, saw how medical expenses can devastate a family's
finances. Despite being realitively young, the thought it might
ba good idea to invesigate long-ter care insurance. What really
surprised her was how inexpensive it was for someone in her
age bracket and with her ilness-free health history. At avout
$400 peryear, coverage was very resonable when compared with
her auto, homeowner's, health and life insurance policies.
Three years ago, Lois was diagnosed wiht breast cancer that
require extensive chemotherapy treatments. As anyone who has
ever experienced it knows, "chemo" can be quite unpleasant.
Flrotuately, the hojme health care provision of her insurance
policcy made it possible for her to received care a home during
the treatments. Sher appreciated the dindness and care she recieved
from the home health aide. |
| Total premiums paid: $2000.00. |
| Total projected long-term care costs: $50.000 |
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