Long Term Care Insurance
Resource: Wikipedia.org
Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a
chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods of time.
It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal
daily tasks like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care may also include medical care that most people
do for themselves, such as diabetes monitoring. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted
living or in nursing homes. Long-term care may be needed by people of any age, even though it is a common need for senior
citizens.
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that about nine million men and women over the
age of 65 in the US will need long-term care in 2006. By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term care. It is
anticipated that most will be cared for at home; family and friends are the sole caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly.
A study by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that people who reach age 65 will likely have a 40
percent chance of entering a nursing home. About 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there
five years or more.
A 2006
study conducted by AARP found that most Americans are unaware of the costs associated with long-term
care and overestimate the amount that government programs such as Medicare will pay.
Overview
Resource – U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services:
An important part of planning for long-term care is deciding how to pay for services. This is because
long-term care is very expensive, and contrary to what many people believe, their Medicare coverage will not pay for
most of the long-term care services they need. While some people may qualify for Medicaid – the major payer of long-term
care services, most people won't. There are other federal public programs, such as the Older Americans Act, or state
funded programs, that pay some long-term care services, but like Medicaid they target those people with the most
functional and financial need. Consequently, if you are one of the 70% of people over the age of 65 who will need
long-term care services – there's a very good chance you will have to pay for some or all of your long-term care
services out of your personal income and resources.
Paying for long-term care out of your personal income and resources can be challenging. Even if you have a
modest need for assistance at home with personal care, say a visit from a home health aide 3 times a week, based on
2008 average costs, you would have to pay about $18,000 a year for those services.
To make the best decisions about how to pay for long-term care you need to understand what services cost,
what public programs you are eligible for and what they cover, what private financing options are available, and which
ones work best for you.
What Does Long-Term Care Cost?
Resource - U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services
LTC includes a broad range of health and support services that people need as they age or if they are
disabled. The majority of these services are personal care, or assistance with activities of daily living that many
families are able to provide all, or some of, free. But, as care and support needs increase, paid care is usually needed to
supplement family provided services and supports, provide respite to family caregivers, or to pay for more extensive services
in a facility, such as a nursing home or assisted living, when individuals can no longer be cared for in their homes.
There are variations in costs based on the type and amount of care you need, the provider you use, and
where you live. Home health and home care services, provided in two-to-four-hour blocks of time referred to as "visits,"
are generally more expensive in the evening, or on weekends or holidays. The costs of services in some community programs,
such as adult day service programs, are often provided at a per-day rate, but vary based on overhead and programming
costs. Many care facilities charge extra for services provided beyond the basic room-and-board charge, although some
may have “all inclusive” fees.
The average costs in the United States (in 2008) are:
- $187/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home
- $209/day for a private room in a nursing home
- $3,008/month for care in an Assisted Living Facility (for a one-bedroom unit)
- $29/hour for a Home Health Aide
- $18/hour for a Homemaker services
- $59/day for care in an Adult Day Health Care Center