If I would have known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself!" That funny line isn't so funny when you're facing a health crisis without the funds to deal with it. Health care costs go up as we age but fortunately we now have some financial tools to help. Now we can make those golden years more comfortable; both physically and financially. Here's one vehicle... Long-term care insurance (LTCI). But don't hop on this insurance product until you really understand what you're getting into. Like any insurance policy, we learn how well it works when we really need it. Here are some of the fine-print considerations to examine if you are looking at any form of long-term care insurance (LTCI).
Long-term care is often considered an issue exclusively for elders. Not so. A person who requires continuous care because they are unable to independently perform basic daily living activities such as dressing, bathing, or eating due to an injury, illness or in some cases, cognitive disorders may be a long-term care candidate. Being able to afford long-term care is something that concerns many of us. One way to deal with the unpredictability of long-term care costs may be long-term care insurance (LTCI).
Hopefully you'll live a long and prosperous life and health or money issues won't cloud your golden years. But, if you want to be prepared, consider how to make long-term care insurance work to your advantage. Don't count on Medicaid. It does cover a bit of your long-term care expenses but you've got to be dang near death or flat broke or a combination of the two to qualify. Then there's your friendly neighborhood HMOs, Medicare, and Medigap but guess what. Right. They don't help much either.
Here are three things you can do to get over your anxiety about this whole not-so-fun question of "How long will I live and can I afford it if I do?"
1. Eat your dang vegetables! Your mother was right. They are good for you and they keep you healthy. In other words, get with a fitness plan, clean up your diet, kick the smokes, and see if you can't add a few more healthy years to your life before long-term care insurance becomes a really big issue.
2. Make a ton of money. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your mother told you to start saving early. If you did as mama advised and got yourself some of that thar financial plannin' stuff then yer in dang good shape. If not, it's never too late to start with some basic planning and investing.
3. Buy some long-term care insurance. Nobody likes paying those insurance premiums but the right kind of long-term care insurance could make a huge difference when the going gets tough.
Eat your veggies, make some money, and buy some long-term care insurance. The first two are relatively easy; the last one has a few complexities to be aware of. Get with an agent you trust. Get a referral from someone in the legal or financial fields. Here is some of the even finer print to watch for when it gets down to the nitty gritty of policy comparison:
Long-term care is often considered an issue exclusively for elders. Not so. A person who requires continuous care because they are unable to independently perform basic daily living activities such as dressing, bathing, or eating due to an injury, illness or in some cases, cognitive disorders may be a long-term care candidate. Being able to afford long-term care is something that concerns many of us. One way to deal with the unpredictability of long-term care costs may be long-term care insurance (LTCI).
Hopefully you'll live a long and prosperous life and health or money issues won't cloud your golden years. But, if you want to be prepared, consider how to make long-term care insurance work to your advantage. Don't count on Medicaid. It does cover a bit of your long-term care expenses but you've got to be dang near death or flat broke or a combination of the two to qualify. Then there's your friendly neighborhood HMOs, Medicare, and Medigap but guess what. Right. They don't help much either.
Here are three things you can do to get over your anxiety about this whole not-so-fun question of "How long will I live and can I afford it if I do?"
1. Eat your dang vegetables! Your mother was right. They are good for you and they keep you healthy. In other words, get with a fitness plan, clean up your diet, kick the smokes, and see if you can't add a few more healthy years to your life before long-term care insurance becomes a really big issue.
2. Make a ton of money. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your mother told you to start saving early. If you did as mama advised and got yourself some of that thar financial plannin' stuff then yer in dang good shape. If not, it's never too late to start with some basic planning and investing.
3. Buy some long-term care insurance. Nobody likes paying those insurance premiums but the right kind of long-term care insurance could make a huge difference when the going gets tough.
Eat your veggies, make some money, and buy some long-term care insurance. The first two are relatively easy; the last one has a few complexities to be aware of. Get with an agent you trust. Get a referral from someone in the legal or financial fields. Here is some of the even finer print to watch for when it gets down to the nitty gritty of policy comparison:
