Starting the Long Term Care Discussion

According to AARP “About 60 percent of people over age 65 will require at least some type of long term care during their lifetime”. With statistics like these it is more important than ever to start the long term care discussion with your family.

Long term care or (chronic care) is custodial care. This type of care is for people who are chronicle ill, have been injured or become so frail due to advancing age they need assistance with activities of daily living. Unless a person dies in their sleep there is a high probability of needing this type of care at some point in their lifetime. The unanswerable questions are when, what and for how long will the chronic condition be for. When the need for care arises it is important that everyone in the family understand the wishes of the ill or injured party. This can be a very emotionally trying time for any family. Having a plan in place that everyone understands will reassure family members so they can act accordingly.

The financial cost of receiving long term care services can be expensive. Understanding these costs is important. Low income individuals have certain rights but they vary from state to state. In Arizona we have state aid for low income individuals and a program for others to spend down all their assets to become eligible for state aid. Every family should understand their options and devise a plan based upon their economic realities. A common misconception about who will pay for long term care or chronic care is that Medicare will cover the costs. Medicare will not pay any costs for custodial care which is what long term care is all about. The state will pay, but only after an individual or couple has liquidated the bulk of their assets.

What should a person wishing to create a plan do first? Luckily due to the internet there is a wealth of information. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created a department called the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information. They also have created a website http://www.longtermcare.gov where these topics are discussed in detail. They even have a long term care planning guide that can be ordered free of charge to assist concerned citizens on how to start their long term care plan. They recommend that each plan first and foremost consider their finances. By coming to a conclusion on how to pay for a long term care event families will be led to what must be done next.

My clients are often shocked when they find out how affordable long term care insurance can be. However, there is more than one way to pay the cost associated with chronic care. For more information on these important financial health care issues click here, fill in the confidential quote request form, and I will be glad to contact you and discuss your options.

Why Women in Arizona Need Long Term Care Insurance

Arizona women are more powerful than ever in their careers. Though women can claim new titles such as CEO, executive, small business owner, manager, or employee they are still daughters, wives, mothers, and friends. Women are also very often the care takers for their parents, husbands and children when they become too ill to take care of themselves. For all these reasons and for their own personal peace of mind Arizona women of all ages should consider an Arizona long term care insurance policy for themselves and their family.

Long term care insurance pays for custodial care when an individual can no longer accomplish two of seven activities of dialing living such as eating, bathing, or toileting. The care can be received in the home and assisted living facility or in a nursing home. Though it is hard to picture yourself needing this type of care, statistics show us that 69 percent of people will need some type of long term care in their lifetime and that women are almost three times as likely to live in nursing homes as men. The average cost for a private room in a nursing home is $77,745 annually. How many years of that could any family or individual take before they are financially ruined?

The costs are so staggering that often a married couple, having one spouse chronically ill or injured, who need a long term care stay find themselves’ financially devastated. The cost is so prohibitive that many families band together and give the needed care themselves. Many baby boomers found themselves in the middle of careers and families having to stop their lives and take care of their parents. Almost always it is women who give this type of care. Caring for a chronically ill family member comes with an unnecessary emotional and financial burden on the caregiver and their families.

Traditionally women live longer than men and they are living even longer due to the advances of medical science. These factors are some of the reasons women are three times as likely to need a long term care stay in their life. No parent should want to put the burden of their chronic condition on their children. If for no other reason, women should have a long term care plan, so that they can afford to maintain their quality of life.

If we love the people in our lives we owe it to them and ourselves to put into place a easily affordable Arizona long term insurance plan that will pay some or all the cost of this most needed care.

Who Needs Arizona Long Term Care Insurance

The customary answer is of course seniors, to protect themselves from the crippling cost of becoming chronically ill or to old and frail and can no longer take care of themselves. According to AARP “About 60 percent of people over age 65 will require at least some type of long term care during their lifetime”. But the reality is that we all should consider a LTC policy to protect ourselves and our loved ones from financial ruin if we experience a devastating accident or debilitating illness and need assistance to perform everyday functions, such as feeding ourselves, bathing and getting dressed. A study, in 1995, concluded that 43% of individuals needing long-term care were children and working adults (as reported in Long Term Care: Diverse, Growing Population Includes Millions of Americans of All Ages by the U.S. General Accounting Office in 1995.)

Baby boomers are the single most at risk group that should be considering a long term care plan for themselves. As they retire in the millions our health care system will
become a very crowded place and the costs will grow with the increased demand. The federal government and Medicare will not come to your aid to help pay for custodial care. The Arizona State government is currently paying for poor Arizona residents who need long term care. The personal cost to individuals and families to gat the state to help pay, is nearly everything you own. So if you have assets you wish to protect, a spouse you do not with to impoverish, considering a long term care plan is essential to an effective retirement plan.

All married couples regardless of age, should consider a long term care policy as part of their overall financial plan along with their health and life insurance. Just as Medicare will not pay for custodial care neither will your health insurance policy. Medical science is making it possible to live a long time with a debilitating diseases or a massive personal injury; however, how your family will survive financially is predetermined only by your sound financial plan. For those under 60 years old an Arizona long term care insurance plan can be very affordable.

Due to the breakthroughs in medical science Arizonans are living longer lives. For that very reason long term care is something every Arizona resident should consider adding to their financial and retirement planning.

Paul A Lituczy has been specializing in affordable Arizona long term care insurance for his Arizona clients since 1991.

For more information contact me at (602) 502-3113 or visit my web site at
http://www.azhealthnow.com/ and fill out a confidential quote form.