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Providing for adequate health care is one of the top concerns for
today’s seniors. And yet, many find themselves coming up short when
that need is for long term care. With costs skyrocketing and
government purse strings tightening, planning for such care has
never been more important. Don’t let long term care costs take you
by surprise. Read on to make sure you’re prepared.
My last two articles discussed in detail the gap that exists between
what seniors need in long term care and what Medicare and Medicaid
will cover. Combine that with the proposed Congressional bill
restricting Medicaid nursing home coverage, and it’s clear to see
that seniors and those nearing retirement simply can’t afford to
ignore this important issue.
How you approach your long term care needs, which include custodial
and skilled nursing in-home care, assisted living facilities and
nursing home care, depends greatly on your economic situation. For
those with low incomes and little assets, there are few choices.
Most likely, should the need for long term care arise, you’ll
quickly spend down your assets and easily qualify for Medicaid.
For those with an annual incomes exceeding $75,000 and with assets
of $500,000 or more, you could simply pay for it out of pocket. But
with nursing homes costing thousands of dollars a month and some
seniors needing years of such care, even a well-lined nest egg could
experience a drastic drop in value. A more prudent approach would be
to purchase long term care insurance and use that to pay for any
long term care you or your spouse may need.
The real conundrum exists for those seniors of moderate means, those
with incomes between $30,000 and $50,000 who have a few hundred
thousand dollars in assets. Long term care needs could gut your life
savings and impoverish the healthy spouse. But long term care
insurance can be very expensive and hard for these seniors to
afford.
Long term care insurance is complicated and there are many issues
you must understand when considering it. My next article will be
devoted purely to better understanding long term care insurance and
what to look for when buying it.
If purchasing long term care insurance isn’t an option for you,
there are still some strategies you can use to cover that care
should you need it. Selling your life insurance policies, called a
life settlement, is one option. Reverse mortgages can also free up
needed cash. Selling your home, however unpleasant that may be, can
also provided needed funds. But in all of these strategies it is
better to leverage those proceeds by using them to buy long term
care insurance, if possible.
But for now, let’s consider some issues that none of us like to
think about, but will greatly influence how we each address our long
term care needs. When someone is no longer able to care for
themselves, usually the healthy spouse, if there is one, will take
over the care. Few seniors, wealthy or not, are quick to dip into
their savings to hire nurses or other care givers to help out.
The result is that the healthy spouse often sacrifices their own
health and well-being to care for the sick one. We’ve all seen it
happen, how the ‘healthy’ spouse becomes exhausted and emotionally
spent trying to meet the overwhelming needs of the other.
If they’re lucky, their adult children will step in to help shoulder
the burden. Some families have gone on like this for years, with
sons and daughters spoon feeding their parents and changing their
diapers. The emotional toll on the family in these situations is
indescribable.
How much easier life is when seniors take active steps to provide
for this care properly. Then the family can spend their emotional
and physical strength on cherishing their loved one, without ruining
their own lives in the process.
No one can predict with certainty how their end-of-life will go. But
the fact remains that nearly half of all seniors will need nursing
home care. Those who don’t are likely to need some kind of outside
help. Plan now for how you’re going to provide for your long term
care. Your health, and the health of your loved ones, depends on it.
I’ll personally respond to your questions, free of charge. Go to
http://www.guardingyourwealth.com and click on ‘Ask Jeff’.
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist and Certified
Financial Planning Practitioner, Mr. Voudrie provides personal,
private money management services to clients nationwide. |
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