How to Find Affordable Long-Term Care

A prolonged illness or chronic condition could end up being one of your biggest retirement expenses. Medicare pays for a maximum of 100 days of nursing home care before retirees must absorb the remaining cost themselves. However, depending on the level of assistance that you need, there are some inexpensive care options and ways to protect yourself from excessive long-term care costs. Here are a few ways to find affordable long-term care:

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To protect yourself from long term care expenses, let California Long Term Care Insurance Services help you get the protection you need. Visit us at www.californialongtermcare.com for more information.

BUYING INSURANCE
By Thomas Day

Why Should You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?

1. It will help you keep your independence and dignity. Here’s how. . . some of you will spend all your assets on care while others plan to give their money away or put it in trust. With no assets you will now qualify for a welfare program called Medicaid. Medicaid typically pays for a semiprivate room in a nursing home, and; not all nursing homes take Medicaid patients. In many states it’s not easy to get Medicaid to cover home care or pay for assisted living. Many people want to stay at home, but with Medicaid may not be able to. And assisted living is rapidly becoming a preferred alternative to nursing home care for certain disabilities but Medicaid may insist on a nursing home instead.

A nursing home is not the most desirable place to finish out one’s life. For many, a terminal stay in a nursing facility robs them of a purpose in life and strips away their dignity. As an example, have you ever thought of the indignity of being bathed, toiletted or diapered in a nursing home environment? No wonder many people express the desire to die before ever having to go into a nursing home.

For some conditions a nursing home is the only alternative, but for many long-term care patients there are more options than nursing homes. A good long term-care insurance policy covers those options and when all else fails, it pays for nursing homes too.

2. If you are married and you have a need for long-term care, your spouse may be forced to pay for an outside care giver. The cost is likely to come from your combined income and assets. If the need for paid care drags on too long, your spouse may be left with minimal cash assets for future needs. Insurance solves this problem and allows your spouse to keep the assets.

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Visit www.californialongtermcare.com for more information regarding Long Term Care Insurance in California.

LTC Insurance Prevents Financial Wipeout In California
By Jennie Phipps • Bankrate.com

Long-term care insurance is a tough sell, yet it’s something middle-income people with substantial nest eggs should consider since the need for personal care can quickly deplete financial reserves. A relatively new partnership program adopted by many states may make this insurance more palatable to more people.

Why consider it? The likelihood of filing a claim for long-term care is higher than for a home wrecked by fire. A 65-year-old man has a 27 percent chance of entering a nursing home at some point in his life; a 65-year-old woman faces a 44 percent probability of doing so, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. The cost of a private room in a nursing home averages more than $70,000 per year.

State governments on average spend 18 percent of their general fund budgets on Medicaid. But Medicaid doesn’t pay the bill for those with financial resources. The jointly funded, federal-state health insurance program is designed for low-income, needy people. Medicare, the federal health care program for those over 65, doesn’t cover routine nursing home care.

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If you would like more information about Long Term Care Insurance, visit www.californialongtermcare.com.

The Cost of Elderly Health Care in California

On average, the cost of elderly health care is $5,531 annually. Family members not only provide hands-on care but often dig into their own pockets to pay other expenses which include groceries, drugs and medicines, medical equipments such as wheelchairs, toilet seat risers and transportation. Many times family members have to miss work and lose out on their income to take care of elderly family members.

Many family members take loans, skip vacations and often ignore their own health. Government must start providing tax deductions and tax credits to family caregivers.

The expenditures incurred for elderly health care is increasing rapidly and reaching astronomical heights. Elders have many special needs when it comes to health care. One is often left frustrated when there are gaps in insurance coverage. Medicare programs offer only minimal assistance for serious health disorders.

There are some programs that cover senior citizens. It covers hospital expenses and doctor visits, even if you continue to work. All one needs to do is pay a premium every month. These programs are popular among a vast number of senior citizens.

One needs to apply for these programs before one reaches the age of 65. In case you don’t then one has to pay a high premium. One also has the option of enrolling for these programs after retirement.

The premium that one pays depends on your income and which company you will be purchasing coverage from. Senior citizens with low income are also eligible for the entire coverage under Medicare.

Prescription drugs which are used to treat a wide variety of diseases and illness are fully covered if one has a private insurance coverage. If you do not have private insurance, this could be matter of serious concern. Sometimes drug prices are simply not affordable, forcing the senior citizens to forgo other needs to pay for drugs.

Recent Medicare legislation has been a big disappointment for senior citizens, as drug coverage continues to be limited and fails to reduce the rising cost of drugs. Many seniors are forced to manage their medical plan on their own.

At times, the drug industry provides free drugs to the needy who are not covered under private insurance or any government program. Retail stores in the vicinity provide drugs at discounted rates. There are various medicine manufacturing companies that offer assistance to lower income senior citizens. One can seek out these discount programs if they have a financial need.

Katie Appleby is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about the cost of elderly health care, please visit Senior Health Today for current articles and discussions.

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Long-Term Care Insurance: You Have Options
By: Janet Arrowood

The latest offerings provide more coverage and the ability to pick and choose what types of coverage you’ll need.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when choosing a long-term care insurance plan was simple–because there was only one option: a nursing-home-only plan modeled after Medicare LTC coverage. Today, you can choose your coverage and its terms from a plethora of options. But, with all of these choices, careful evaluation of LTC policies is more critical than ever.

To give you an idea of how dramatically LTC plans have evolved, let’s look at the some the older features.

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Are you looking forward to your retirement?  Have questions about insuring your future? Visit us for more information at www.californialongtermcare.com.