Author Archives: Katie

Long-Term Care Insurance Statistics That Affect Your Planning

In a recent Morningstar article on Long Term Care statistics, author Christie Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions, outlined industry statistics you should know when planning your insurance needs in retirement.

According to Benz, “Ultimately, the decision about whether to purchase long-term-care insurance is a highly personal one, dependent on an individual’s or couple’s asset level and desire to leave a bequest, health history, and the peace of mind derived from having the coverage, among other factors.”

So what does some of the long-term care insurance and services look like by the numbers Benz researched?

  • 8 Million People experience problems with daily living activities, i.e., bathing, dressing, washing, eating, and other basic needs.
  • 13 Million Adults have difficulty living independently.
  • 44% of men will need long-term care services during their lifetime.
  • 58% of women will need those same services during their lifetime.
  • 4% is the 5 year annual inflation rate in nursing home costs for private and semi-private rooms. If you do not have an inflation rider on your policy, it is worth 4% less each year you own it.
  • $5,518 is the median total household wealth of people that have lived in a nursing home for 6 months or more. Do you think asset protection is important now?
  • $450 Billion is the estimate value of unpaid care provided by friends and family members caring for a loved one.
  • $7.8 Billion is the amount of claims paid for long-term care in 2014.
  • 45% is the number of applications denied to applicants’ age 70-79 who put off planning and now have health issues to manage.
  • 100% if you have not started planning, the time is now.

Contact your California Long Term Care Insurance Services specialist today for a no obligation conversation about your options. Start by filling out the form to the right and downloading your Free Guide.

Source: http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=715947&part=1

Have You Accepted The Default Long-Term Care plan?

In a recent article on Marketwatch.com by Retirement Reporter Elizabeth O’Brien, she discussed what the costs for long-term care insurance look like, and how people plan for their health care needs in the future when they are no longer able to care for themselves.

In O’Brien’s article, she references the average cost for a 55-year old couple on a common LTC plan to be around $5,000 per year in premium dollars. While that is a sizable amount for people to budget with insurance, O’Brien comments, “Consumers should think of long-term care insurance as one way to help defray the cost of home health aides or a care facility and to protect their hard-earned nest eggs in the process…”

The article continues on covering the common misconceptions about Medicare and custodial care. Unfortunately, many people believe Medicare covers long-term care expenses. The reality is, while Medicare may cover up to 100 days of skilled nursing, it is not going to cover long-term custodial care. There is a difference between skilled care and custodial care.

O’Brien offers from her research that the median annual cost for private rooms runs over $91,000, and a home health aide could run upwards of $45,000 or more. Without a solid nest egg in place, these costs could easily wipe out any savings available to most families.

An interesting point in the article is how people could end up with a “default long-term care plan”.

“Everybody has a long-term care plan, said Eileen Dunn, a geriatric care manager with Associates of Clifton Park, a Clifton Park, N.Y.-based company that sells long-term care and other insurance to clients of financial advisers. Those who do not consciously make a plan are on the “default plan,” Dunn said. “When something happens, you’re not going to have a choice.” That is, you’re not going to have a choice but to spend down your assets” (O’Brien, 2015, pp. 7)

If you have accepted the default plan as your option, then you should at least research “spend down” requirements for your State, so you know what will happen and how it will affect your family. You can usually get these requirements from the State welfare offices.

The choice is yours, make yours!

Choice 1: I am willing to lose the things I worked for in life.

Choice 2: I want to protect my assets and have a choice.

If you selected Choice 2 and would rather have options in your care, fill out the form to the right and contact a California Long Term Care specialist today to get the conversation started.

Reference:

O’Brien, E., (June 2015) Can you afford $5,000 a year for long-term care insurance? Retrieved 8/9/2015 at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-you-afford-5000-a-year-for-long-term-care-insurance-2015-06-25

Long Term Care Insurance Cost

You can likely guess that long term care insurance costs might be a valid concern while planning for the future.  After all, in California, the average cost of a shared room in a nursing home is about $300 and for a private room, the cost is about $350 per day.  So, how much is the insurance that pays for nursing home care?

We’ll talk about the cost of long term care insurance, but first we need to be on the same page about what it costs if you or a loved one needs long term care. 

Long Term Care Costs

If you haven’t looked at the numbers yet, this is going to be a shocker.  These numbers are for the state of California.

  • Pulling in the $300/$350 per day, that’s $109,500 to $127,750 a year, on average. 
  • High cost of living areas like San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles demand much higher payments – even up to $497 per day, which is $181,405 per year. 
  • The average stay in a nursing home is 2.5 years.  That’s $273,750, on average, for a shared room. 
  • If a couple needs care, the costs are doubled.  That’s $547,500. 
  • Shockingly, these fees are for basic care; they don’t include personal products like Depends, sitters and attendants, or getting your hair or nails done. 
  • And, lastly, an important question:  With health care costs skyrocketing at more than 4% annually, how much will that nursing home cost by the time you need it?  Yikes! 

Long Term Care Insurance Costs

This is actually good news:

  • All the premiums, you pay over your entire lifetime, will likely be less than the cost of one year in a nursing home. 
  • You can pick a long term insurance policy that fits your budget.  If premiums are going to take food off your table, you shouldn’t buy it, but, otherwise, there are a myriad of ways to make it work. 
  • New products have been developed which feature long-term care riders and chronic illness riders as a part of a life insurance policy or an annuity.
  • Long term care annuities allow you to get ALL your money back if you don’t use it to pay for LTC. 
  • Costs depend on how much protection you buy, the options you select, your age at purchase, and your health when you apply for coverage. 
  • Costs vary widely, depending on your coverage selections as well as your age and health.  For example, long term care insurance costs may range from a $1,500 to $7,000+, depending on your individual situation and goals. 

We know the numbers can be overwhelming and you’re not sure what numbers will end up applying to you.  But, we can’t provide specific information for everyone on a website, so we offer a free information conversation.

You are entitled to a free, no-obligation analysis of your individual situation.  Contact us to find out your long term care insurance cost and plan options.  Be sure to ask about long term care annuities as well.  Call now to get the answers you need so you can stop worrying.

Long Term Care Insurance Benefits Mean Better Choices

Affordable LTCI Premiums

Katie O’ Rourke
Managing Partner

Many people don’t start thinking about long term care insurance benefits until it’s too late. However, it is important to understand that illnesses and accidents often happen unexpectedly throughout life, and being prepared can help protect you from large out-of-pocket expenses.  

What is long term care insurance?

Long-term insurance, or LTC, is a type of health insurance that will cover long-term care, not having the standard time limitations.

In contrary to what many believe, long term care insurance is not only for elderly, since many people encounter costs for medical care earlier in their life. By signing up before any issues arise, you can protect your future more affordably.

Long Term Care Insurance Benefits Everyone

Many people who become sick, and do not use a long term care insurance plan, will have to rely on family members for help, or end up with debt due to high medical bills. However, if you use long term care insurance coverage, those medical bills won’t be a problem and you will only have to worry about getting better.

What does Long Term Care Insurance cover?

The coverage depends somewhat on the policy you have, but always covers more than your average health insurance plan. LTC usually covers nursing homes, assisted living, home care, respite care, adult daycare, hospice care and even Alzheimer facilities. It can pay for a companion, live-in caregiver, therapist, housekeeper or private duty nurse.

Why consider Long Term Care Insurance benefits on top of my health INSURANCE?

Contrary to what is believed, normal health insurance does not cover the majority of your long-term medical expenses. Even though you have health insurance, you might encounter an expensive surprise when you, or a family member, needs permanent care. Making sure you and your family are taken care of is therefore the number 1 priority.

Home care services

Home care services are essential to people with long-term illnesses. They are usually provided by healthcare professionals or caregivers that can help with everyday activities such as dressing, bathing and eating.

Live-in Caregiver

In some cases, you or a family member might become ill and need the help of a live-in caregiver. This is something that also falls under the Long Term Care Insurance. If you are covered, you won’t have to worry about unpaid medical or care bills, because this type of insurance will take care of everything for you.

These services are not necessarily always for those who are fully debilitated. One of my clients has a full time live-in care giver because she suffers from vertigo and has fallen several times. She needs assistance with bathing, dressing and housekeeping because of her balance problems. However, she still drives and we go out to lunch together regularly. That’s probably not what you expect to hear about someone that needs care.

Everyone can benefit!

Unforeseen circumstances can affect people at any age, including under 65, and to varying degrees. This is a reality that many people neglect to foresee, which unfortunately causes them to be unprepared. Brain tumors, cancer, injuries, accidents, strokes, aids and even mental conditions, can leave you with hefty medical costs if they are not covered by the proper insurance. Therefore, understanding the options and benefits of long term care insurance now can help protect your health, finances and future. Having a plan, means having better choices.

To speak to a representative or schedule an appointment, simply fill out the form to the right to contact us.

Having The Long Term Care Talk With Your Family

This year, like many others, millions of families around the US will sit down to a delicious Holiday feast, filled with laughs, stories, and family warmth. This year, when looking around the table, there are some numbers you need to think about.

1 in 9
1 in 4
2 in 3

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1 in 9 people age 65 and older develop Alzheimer’s. At age 85, that number jumps to almost one out of three.

Long-term care insurance can help cover the rising costs of care for people that develop Alzheimer’s and require treatment in a nursing home. Medicare does not cover this kind of health care setting. Long-term disability insurance does not cover this type of care either.

With annual care costs trending upward to $150,000 for a private room, if you don’t have a substantial nest egg set aside for long-term healthcare expenses of 2 years or more, it can ruin a family financially and emotionally.

The Society of Actuaries says that almost 1 in 4 long-term care insurance claims is from services received by people suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Industry statistics also show that nearly 2 in 3 people will require some form of long-term care assistance at age 65 and up. Maybe this year, it is time to talk openly with the family about plans to receive care when they can no longer do for themselves.

Putting a simple plan in place is easy, and getting professional guidance is no cost. The specialists at California Long Term Care Insurance Services are available to help you understand how to have “the talk” at no cost and no obligation to you.

In fact, they have put together a great report that you can get free right now that will give you great information on planning for long-term care needs, with affordable long-term care insurance options.

Fill out the short form to the right, download your guide and start “the talk”!

California Long Term Care Plans Cost More Today!

News flash!  

California Long Term Care plans cost more today than they did 20 years ago! While it is true that the cost of LTCi insurance has gone up in recent years, see all the press releases, so has the cost of care. Cost is relative to everything, remember what you were paying for medical coverage in 1994? How about a gallon of gas? Now, think about your income in 1994 and today. Everything is relative right?  This doesn’t negate the need to plan ahead and prepare for something that will affect 7 out of 10 Americans.

The interesting thing about the 7 out of 10 is that it doesn’t differentiate between economic classes. The need doesn’t change for someone earning $50,000 annually or someone earning  $150,000 annually. Loss of your ADL’s or cognitive issues could care less about your income. Having the funds available to pay for care is a necessity not a luxury. Not having a plan is a plan, just not a good one. Cost of care will continue to rise forcing you to spend more to get quality care. You can pay that difference yourself or get some help from an insurance carrier to pick up the majority of the bill. Choosing to work with an insurance carrier will definitely help lower your California Long Term Care plans cost.

Designing a personalized plan to protect your family and assets doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice today. With medical advances and the odds being in your favor of living longer and needing care it is important to protect as much as you can. A good friend of mine has been known to say that people live on budgets all the time; why would that change if you were in need of care? The question is would $2,000 or $3,000 make a difference in the care you received? So no matter what your income, the risk remains the same, now is the time to look through the different your options for California Long Term Care plans. Cost will vary but you can  put together a plan so when the need arises you have the ability to receive care and protect your family.

To speak to a representative or schedule an appointment, simply fill out and submit the short form to the right.

Support Beyond Purchasing Long Term Care Insurance

It is often hard for consumers to see the benefits of purchasing Long Term Care Insurance.  They also often overlook the value in working with an agent and an agency that specializes in LTC.  Our work as an agency definitely does not end with our client’s initial decision in purchasing Long Term Care Insurance. Two recent real-life experiences illustrated why a specialist agent and agency can make a difference:

  •  A client called and said he needed to use the policy for nursing home care.  He said he had used home care services for the past 6 months.  His health had deteriorated and he felt a facility was a better fit for him now.  I asked why he didn’t use the coverage for the home care help.  He thought it wasn’t covered because he had hired a private caregiver.  He mistakenly believed that only aides from a home care agency qualified for reimbursement.  He was able to get all of the long term care services covered.  He moved to an assisted living facility and his wife lives in the independent living unit nearby.
  • A client called and asked to review her coverage.  During the conversation she said she thought she may need to use the insurance sometime in the future.  She described her circumstances and I realized that she might qualify use the insurance now.  I convinced her to file a claim. This activated the Care Coordination service.   They helped her find caregivers and put together a plan of care.  The plan of care outlines the details of needs and how they are met by the aide and various community services like Meals on Wheels.  Her care is covered by the insurance policy.

We at California Long Term Care Insurance Services, Inc have been working with these types of policies for over 20 years. An agent or agency that does not have as much exposure to Long Term Care insurance plans may not have realized the opportunity to help the client use the insurance.  In both these cases we helped protect our clients’ income and assets but also improved the quality of their lives. We helped make their decision of purchasing Long Term Care Insurance a great tool in improving their quality of life when they most needed it.

Our LTCI specialists make your shopping experience easy, by helping compare the costs and benefits of policies from select insurance companies. More importantly, our agency will be there for you beyond purchasing Long Term Care Insurance. To speak to a representative or schedule an appointment, simply fill out the short form on the right to start with a free consultation or contact us.

This podcast might save you or your family a lot of money and heartache!

Affordable LTCI Premiums

Katie O’ Rourke
Managing Partner

Our own Managing Partner, Katie O’ Rourke, was featured as an expert guest on the Essential Boomer. Katie is an honorary boomer and as we all know, a 30 year veteran of the insurance industry and Managing Partner of California Long Term Care insurance Services. In this podcast, Katie shared the benefit of her expertise in long-term care insurance as she provided frank and insightful answers to the following questions:

 

• What is Long Term Care?
• Where is Long Term Care typically provided?
• What are the odds of me needing long-term care?
• What does long term care cost?
• Wouldn’t a lot of families be able to provide the necessary resources?
• Don’t Medicare and health insurance provide some kind of coverage for long-term care?
• When is the best time to investigate long-term care insurance?
• What is the qualification process for Long Term Care insurance
• If somebody has a pre-existing condition, are they still able to obtain long-term care insurance?
• How do the plans work and what’s the cost?
• What are the different flavors of long-term care insurance?
• What should I look for in a policy?
• Are there any tax breaks with long-term care insurance?
• Can I get a plan at work?

This podcast (http://essentialboomer.guide/katie/ ) might save you or your family a lot of money and heartache!

Listen to this very informative podecast and then contact us with any further questions you may have. We are here for you!

Long Term Care Facts Don’t Lie

Affordable LTCI Premiums

Katie O’ Rourke
Managing Partner

Long Term Care Facts Don’t Lie … Could This One Mistake Cost You Your Retirement Savings?

You’ve worked hard all your life and now it is time to retire. You’ve got your expenses figured out and it looks like you can finally stop working and live off interest, savings, social security, and maybe even a pension. You might even choose to work a fun part time job to stay in the mix and enjoy life a bit.

Then it happens… An unforeseen health event takes place like cancer, stroke, heart disease, or some other debilitating event.

 Luckily, you got insurance to help cover most of the medical bills, but you find out it will not be enough because this event is going to require a long-term care treatment plan that normal insurance or Medicare does not cover.

 And when 70% of those over the age of 65 will need long term care in their lifetime, you wonder why you didn’t take care of this sooner. Sure, you’ve probably heard the concept of long term care insurance, but like most other people you didn’t believe you would need it, or you simply didn’t get the right information about it.

 Did you know that 79% of the people purchasing Long Term Care policies are between ages 45-64, but only 9% of baby boomers have planned for their Long Term Care needs? When someone is unprepared for the time, cost, and emotional commitment required of family to have to take care of you, retirement doesn’t look as fun as you thought.

 And because only 9% of boomers even planned for this, 67% of the people who plan to have a loved one provide care have not asked the loved one to take care of them when the need arises. This is going to create stress among the family no matter what because most long-term care events are not a quick 30-day recovery period, they can last for 5 to 10 years, or longer in some cases. And, when long term care costs can run between $2,000 to $8,000+ per month, this can wipe out most retirement accounts efficiently.

 We know the thought of having to buy another insurance policy does not sound like a fun thing to do. But, you have so many options you may not even be aware of right now. For example, if you are in the 30% of people that enjoy health during retirement, you might be eligible for a return of premium plan where if you do not use it, you get your money back.

 Regardless of return of premium options, the fact is 99% of buyers keep their policy for the rest of their life because they know the peace of mind it provides when the unexpected happens.

 We know you want to have a fulfilling retirement full of joy and love, we also know that you do not want to become a burden or cause any strain on those that care about you most.

 That is why you can get all the facts about long-term care today when you speak to our highly trained staff and learn about what options are available to you now.

 Contact us today and get the facts about long-term care planning for retirement and you.

Baby Boomers Prepare for the Financial Care of Aging Parents in California

Baby Boomers and Aging Parents – Six Tips to Prepare For Their Care

By Katie B. Marsh

Although there is some debate over the exact age range of the Baby Boom generation, the US Census Bureau identifies most Boomers as those who were born between the years 1956 to 1965. In any case, whether you were born within that time frame or fairly close to it, chances are you are beginning to deal with end-of-life issues regarding your elderly parents. Your many considerations run the gamut from the practical to the spiritual and everything in between. So, where do you begin?

Caregivers. Imagine if we ended our lives as babies, completely dependent on a caregiver tending to all of our needs: loving us, feeding us, changing our diapers. Imagine now that we are not as cute as little babies but still have the same need to be cared for gently with love and respect. Who would you want to take care of you in this situation? Who do your parents want to care for them? This question should be posed directly to your parents. Don’t assume you know the answer. What they may have said 10 to 15 years ago may not still hold true today as they are closer to facing their mortality.

Finances. As we know, in our society it’s considered impolite to ask someone about their finances. Many adult children hesitate to inquire about the exact state of their parents’ finances for fear that their parents will think that the real questions is about potential future inheritance money. But it’s extremely important to have an honest discussion about finances at this point in life. First of all, you need to know if your parents have long-term care insurance. This is the only type of insurance that pays for future assistance that may be needed in the performance of activities of daily living. And, as the name implies, it helps cover the cost of long-term care usually for an undetermined length of time. Long-term care insurance combined with your parents’ net worth, any financial assistance from family, and personal preferences will all factor in to determining where and how your parents live out their final years.

Memoirs. The written word is a way for us to live on beyond this lifetime. Encourage your parents to share their unique stories on paper. My great grandfather actually typed his life story and had it bound in leather and embossed in gold leaf. My brother, sister, and I cherish it and each wish we had our own copy.

Legal Instruments. A living trust is a very important instrument for any family with assets to bequeath. Its main purpose is to avoid probate. Much of a family’s estate can be lost through probate; setting up a living trust is a way to prevent such a loss. It is best to hire an attorney to set up a living trust tailored to your family’s specific needs.

The next consideration is to find out to whom your parents have given or intended to give power of attorney. Power of attorney assigns power to an individual to act on your behalf to handle all of your legal and business matters in the event that you are unable to do this for yourself.

Lastly, an advance directive is a legal instrument prepared in advance by an individual. It gives health care instructions to your care providers in the event you are unable to conduct such matters on your own. A living will, power of attorney, health care proxy, and Five Wishes are all forms of an advance directive.

Possessions. A Last Will and Testament is the instrument to be prepared by your parents to assign care for their dependents, if any. This can include pets as well. Also, this is the legal mechanism through which they can identify one or more persons to manage their estate and provide instructions for the distribution of their personal possessions. This includes everything from real estate and expensive jewelry to the simplest sentimental items. Funeral and burial instructions can also be outlined here. Although this is a legal document, completing one can give great comfort to your parents, giving them control and certainty over one aspect of their lives.

Final Messages. Encourage your parents to write letters to each of their children if they feel comfortable doing so. Some families even make audio or video recordings of their elders. It can be about anything – a full life story, funny anecdotes, family stories, or loving good-byes to each of their children. My husband’s grandmother came to this country from Armenia and she recounted her tumultuous life on CD. He cherishes it and plans to share it with our children when they are older.

Your parents are entering a time of life where many people feel particularly vulnerable. This can be especially difficult for parents who are used to being in charge and may not be comfortable at all with the reversal of roles. Please keep that in mind as you gather information from them and help them create a plan for the future. If done tactfully and respectfully, this time of life can bring you closer to your parents than ever before.

Katie B. Marsh is co-author of The Birth of Dying: A Sensitive Workbook to Help You Broach and Explore End-of-Life Issues with Your Terminally Ill or Elderly Loved One http://BooksForSharing.com/

(c) Copyright – Katie B. Marsh. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_B._Marsh

Visit www.californialongtermcare.com for information and assistance with long term care insurance in California.