It is a well known fact that health insurance is expensive, especially when you take into consideration all of the health insurance products that you need during your lifetime. One of the latest health insurance products to be introduced to the market is long term care insurance. This insurance is designed to cover your long term care costs like nursing home care, home health care, respite care and adult day care.
The Cost of Long Term Care Insurance
It is inevitable that most adults will need some form of long term care during their life either because of aging issues and conditions or early to mid life accidents and conditions. In order to cover the costs associated with long term care you will either need to have substantial savings, or you will need long term care insurance. However, wanting long term care insurance and being able to afford it are two completely different things. This is because long term care insurance premiums can range any where from several hundred dollars a year to several thousands of dollars a year.
Long Term Care Options
While nursing homes and in home care are two viable options. They are expensive options that some people simply cannot afford. For these people family members, friends and church or synagogue volunteers cover offer the care that they need. For those who don't have a support team that can care for them when they need long term care, Medicaid and Medicare pick up slack, to a point. These health insurance programs cover long term care, to a point.
Financing Your Long Term Care
There are several ways that you can fund your long term care. Your first financing option is to dip into your savings. However, with the average cost of a nursing home stay ranging between $130 and $450 a day, your savings are going to be eaten up quickly.
Your second financing option is to liquidate your assets. Real estate, stocks and bonds, jewelry and other possessions can be sold to cover your long term care expenses.
Government health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid can also be used to finance, at least a portion of your long term care needs. However, for most people these government sponsored programs are not going to be adequate to cover all of their long term, or extended care needs.
Your final option is to use a long term care insurance to finance your long term care expenses. There are dozens of ltc insurance programs that you can select from. To get the most for your money you will want to shop around and look for a policy that is offered by a financially stable company, that offers reasonable premiums and that offers the type of coverage that you want and need.
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