Facts And Myths On Long Term Care

More and more Americans are requiring long term care services every year

. Statistics reveals that almost half of the population will enter nursing homes at some point of their lives. Unfortunately, many Americans do not anticipate the perils of long term care because of the myths that surround this issue.

MYTH: Medicare and Medicaid pays all long term care expenses

How could a single government program pay for the expenses of more than a million Americans? Medicaid assists low income Americans to receive services in nursing homes for limited time and coverage. The coverage provided is minimal compared to the services offered in private insurance companies.

MYTH: Residents stay in nursing homes for only few months

Wrong. According to some nationwide surveys, the average nursing home stay of most residents is two years, and may even be longer. As the costs escalate this year, making it up to $75,000 a year, most Americans would eventually drain their assets to pay for the expenses. By looking at this cruel reality, we can conclude that long term care insurance is the best weapon to offset this problem.

MYTH: Most long term care insurance policies cover solely nursing home care

Long term care insurance policy covers variety of care and services in different settings. This includes nursing home, adult day care, assisted living facility, and home. The LTCi benefits can be used to buy formal services from professional health care providers, and informal services of a relative or anyone whos willing to care for the insured. One can maintain his or her independence upon choosing a suitable facility.

MYTH: Wait until you are older to save on premiums

That is untrue. Many people thought it wrongly that waiting for another few years will reduce the LTCi premiums. Thats a costly mistake, then. The price of premiums normally depends on the persons age; it becomes more expensive as a person ages. So when a person buys a policy at age of 75, expect the premium is more expensive than those who have purchased the policy at younger age. Moreover, as a person becomes older, he or she acquires a serious illness that may increase the price of premium.

MYTH: Long term care insurance is not a worthy investment because you can self- insure

Self- insuring is not a good idea since nursing home costs are high and become higher in few more years. Individuals who have assets to preserve for their families and heirs should not pay on their own. Another feature that most consumers overlooked is the inflation protection. Inflation rider helps policies gain benefits over time but keep the premiums steady to keep pace with the inflation. In fact, there are many other options to upgrade LTCi policies and individual needs.

by: Heather Myers

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