Long Term Care Insurance for Seniors

Long-term-care insurance. It's a subject most people don't want to think about—but many people know they need to.

At first blush, policies that help pay the costs of extended nursing care make perfect sense. Bills add up quickly when you can no longer take care of yourself and your needs exceed what family and friends can provide. Nursing homes, assisted-living centers and home care all are expensive, and there is no telling for how long you may need the service. Buying a long-term-care insurance policy can be a way of making sure your future physical needs will be met. Policies designed in partnership with state governments also give individuals and their families a way to protect savings in the event of burdensome care costs that stretch on for years.

The biggest misconception is that Medicare covers long-term care. It does not. Medicaid, meanwhile, pays for various kinds and amounts of long-term-care services and support—for the poor. But many states are cutting back on Medicaid benefits, and access to good care is always uncertain.

What about consumers with midlevel savings—in other words, most people? These consumers need long-term-care insurance the most. They tend to have too little savings to pay for even a couple of years of care without impoverishing themselves and their families, and too much to qualify for Medicaid.

The best time to buy long-term care insurance is between ages 55 and 64. After that, health complications often hinder or even negate people’s ability to get coverage.

How Much Insurance Should You Purchase?

A number of considerations go into how much insurance any consumer should buy. In many areas of the country, nursing homes cost as much as $300 a day and assisted living facilities can cost more than half that amount. Home care can be less or more expensive, depending on the amount and level of care required.

One easy way to calculate a daily benefit is to take the average cost of care where you live or are likely to live when needing care and subtract from that your daily income. If, for instance, nursing homes cost $300 a day and your income is $3,000 a month, or $100 a day, then your daily benefit should be $200 a day. Remember: the insurance policy only covers care expenses; you will need to rely upon savings or other income sources to pay for other expenses, such as food and utilities.

The next factor is what period of time the policy covers. The shortest period of coverage available is two years. But policies can be purchased for longer periods of time or for the insured’s lifetime. Of course, the longer the policy’s coverage period, the higher the premium.

Consult With a Qualified Agent

If you are considering long-term care insurance, you need to consult with a qualified professional to determine whether you can afford this type of coverage and whether the policy you are considering meets necessary standards.

Call Mintco Financial at 813-964-7100 or get a quote at http://www.mintcofinancial.com/quotes/long-term-care-insurance-quote/

Mintco Financial Team of Independent Advisors are specialiazed in Long Term Care Insurance and will be glad to help you to understand it and analyze if it is right for you.

Florida Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Free Quote

 Free quote: http://www.mintcofinancial.com/long-term-care-insurance-quote.asp

Will I need a long term care insurance policy or certificate?

The possibility of needing long term care increases with age. At age 65, seniors face a 40-percent lifetime chance of a nursing home stay, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For about 10 percent of the seniors, this stay will last five years or longer. You may not need long term care insurance if you have enough savings to cover your health care. Nationally, the average cost of nursing home care may be about $50,000 a year or more, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Medicaid is the only government program available to pay long term care costs for those who meet certain federal poverty guidelines and cannot afford to buy private insurance or pay the costs out-of-pocket. Contact your local Social Security office or your Area Agency on Aging for more information on Medicaid. .
Informal caregivers, such as family and friends, provide about 70 percent of all long term care, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). You should discuss with your spouse, children or friends what assistance they would provide if you became sick or injured and needed care. It is a difficult subject to discuss, especially when you are feeling well, but you should know what kind of help they can provide and what care you will have to pay for.



Free quote: http://www.mintcofinancial.com/long-term-care-insurance-quote.asp

Understand Florida Partnership for Long Term Care

A Florida Partnership for Long-Term Care qualified policy provides you, as the purchaser, with the right to apply for Medicaid under modified eligibility rules that include a special feature called an ‘asset disregard’. This allows you to keep assets that would otherwise not be allowed if you need to apply, and qualify, for Medicaid in order to receive additional long-term care services. The amount of assets Medicaid will disregard is equal to the amount of the benefits you actually receive under your long term care Partnership qualified policy.

Since these policies must include inflation protection, the amount of the benefits you receive can be higher than the amount of insurance protection you originally purchased. If you have a Partnership-qualified long term care insurance policy and receive $200,000 in benefits, you can apply for Medicaid and, if eligible, retain $200,000 worth of assets over and above the State’s Medicaid asset threshold. In most states the asset threshold is $2,000 for a single person. Asset thresholds for married couples are typically more generous.

The following is an example of how a Florida Partnership for Long-Term Care Qualified policy works. Let's say John, a single man, purchases a Florida Partnership for Long-Term Care policy with a value of $200,000. Some years later he receives benefits under that policy up to the policy’s lifetime maximum coverage (adjusted for inflation) equaling $250,000. John eventually requires more long-term care services, and applies for Medicaid. If John's policy was not a Partnership-qualified policy, in order to qualify for Medicaid, he would be entitled to keep only $2,000 in assets. He would have to spend down any assets over and above this amount. However, because John bought a Partnership-qualified policy, if he needs to apply for Medicaid and is deemed eligible, he can keep $252,000 in assets and the State will not recover those funds after his death. However, any assets John has over and above the $252,000 would have to be spent in order for him to be eligible for Medicaid. 

Need a quote?  http://www.mintcofinancial.com/long-term-care-insurance-quote.asp 

Or simply contact us at 716-565-1300 or by email:anecamara@mintcofinancial.com