subject: 3 In 4 Will Need Long Term Care [print this page] Practical thinking of long term care (LTC) will spare people from financial risks. Unfortunately, 3 in 4 need more information about LTC planning because they still think that they have the option not to plan as not everybody will require it anyway.
What they need to understand is the fact that those individuals who will not need LTC only make up a very thin slice of the total population of elderly and disabled individuals. Perhaps, these could be people who have already reached the terminal stage of an acute illness before they discovered it, and so it didnt take long for death to come for them.
But why wait for a serious health disorder to attack and take you from this world unprepared when you can plan and get your family ready for the possible outcome of your condition? Through an effective LTC plan, you will be able to receive the type of care that meets your health requirements without wiping out your assets.
You can consider different approaches when planning your LTC, but right now a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy is the best option as it promises big savings especially if you buy it while you are young and healthy.
Through a comprehensive LTCI policy you can receive care in all types of LTC settings. For instance, your initial plan is to acquire in-home care should a sickness, event or accident hinder you from performing the activities of daily living (ADL) which are eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring or ambulating. Your health records, after all, do not show that you are at risk of a chronic sickness.
Two years into home health care, though, you begin to experience frequent headaches and dizziness. After a checkup with your physician you found out that you have primary hypertension which requires skilled nursing care.
Without a comprehensive LTCI policy, you run the risk of forking out close to a hundred dollars yearly for your nursing home expenses.
3 in 4 Need More LTCI Facts
In the past, LTC was associated with nursing homes. This concept stuck in the minds of people and that is why modern Americans veer from this subject.
However that the case, national statistics have revealed that 82% of the current population that is receiving LTC can be found in the comforts of their homes, in assisted living facilities, adult day care health centers, and other community-based LTC facilities.
Unlike the past generations, baby boomers and those following them have issues with nursing homes. They believe that it will rob them of their independence and thus their strong dislike for it.
Just like the nature of LTC, however, nursing homes have evolved through the years. Forget those nurses with stiff faces as portrayed in many a movie. Nowadays, nurses interact better with their patients and thus turning nursing homes into a haven of care, friendships, social activities, and valuable lives.
No amount of explanation on nursing homes, however, can instantly change peoples perception as 3 in 4 need more information on this topic. Aside from reading LTC materials that are made available online, having coffee with an LTCI representative will definitely shed light on those gray areas.
