Planning for a Nursing Home – Long-Term Care Insurance
The costs that are associated with nursing home care can wipe out the savings of an individual. This is why planning for nursing care is very important. People never know when they will need nursing home services, so the best thing to do is prepare for this occurrence. There are some different options for those who wish to plan ahead.
Buy Long-Term Insurance When Young Well Before Entering the Nursing Home
Planning for a stay in a nursing home before it happens is one way people can protect their assets, as well as protecting the savings and assets of family members. For those who are young and healthy, the purchase of long-term care insurance seems unreasonable. However, this insurance is better when bought early. This is a huge step in planning for the future and one of the best ways to protect assets. This insurance is very cost effective when purchased young. Even for healthy older adults, the benefits to having this insurance are vast. The older a person is, the more it will cost to obtain long-term care insurance, which is why it should be done as soon as possible.
Long Term Care Insurance Policies Covering Nursing Home Costs
Depending on the particular policy, coverage may vary. Some insurance policies will cover the entire stay at the nursing home while others will only pay for certain services rendered. When a patient enters a nursing home, benefits are usually paid after a doctor has declared that the policy holder is unable to perform activities of daily living. Many policies also have time or amount limits, which means that they will only pay for a specific amount of time or a specific dollar amount. When these limits have been reached, the coverage ceases.
Benefit amounts are generally calculated on the cost of daily care. This information will clearly be stated in the policy. The major problem that people face is purchasing a policy that has a low daily benefit. It is always best to buy insurance with the maximum coverage that can be afforded. If the cost of nursing care exceeds the daily policy amount, the patient will have to pay the difference.
Cost of Living Rider & Underwriting Long-Term Insurance for Nursing Home Care
To offset these costs, the individual can add a cost-of-living rider to the policy. This will allow for standard increases each year. This increase could completely remove any amount that the patient may have to pay. Adding this will make the premium rise, but in the long run, it will be worth the extra money.
For older people, the cost and underwriting of the policy can be very expensive. If this is the case, it may not be the right decision. Some people may not even qualify for a policy. This will depend on the requirements of the particular insurance company. The individual must be a good risk for the company to be willing to underwrite this kind of policy.
Long-term care insurance can protect savings and assets later in life. If it is affordable, people should look into getting this insurance. Since we do not know what the future holds, it is better to be prepared for nursing home costs than to have to figure out finances when our health is failing.
Read more information on Medicaid:
- Medicaid Rules Purchasing Annuities
- Medicaid Transfer Assets
- Medicaid asset protection
- Medicaid Gifting Rules
- Medicaid Joint Accounts
- Hide Assets from Medicaid
- Medicaid Assets
- Medicaid Home Equity
- Medicaid Laws
- Medicaid Annuity
- Medicaid Income First Rule
- Medicaid Long Term Care Insurance
- Medicaid Look Back Period
- Medicaid Life Estate
- Medicaid Loan
- Medicaid Deficit Reduction Act
- Medicaid Case Study
