topic Re: Long term care in Wellness

Long term care

Mom2Dogs — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 23:41:44 GMT

Does anyone have long term care insurance? Or are there other ways to prepare and pay for a long term illness with out going in to a facility?

Re: Long term care

september — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 23:58:40 GMT

My husband had it, and paid into it for many years. I'm not sure if he ever got his money's worth.

it would have paid more for skilled nursing, but his was used for assisted living. It covered only about 25% of the monthly fees.

Re: Long term care

Carmie — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:14:14 GMT

I don't have it, but when I was working for a health insurance company, they offered it to their employees at a lower cost than what it was sold to the public.

I wanted to buy, but it was still too expensive.

I am POA for an elderly friend. She is in long term care now. She is on Medicaid. I am in the process of selling her home and cleaning it out. She gets everything paid for by Medicaid now except about $1500 a month. Her savings are almost gone. The sale of her house will continue to pay that $1500 a month unril it runs out.

She can keep $7000 in savings untouched, but when the rest of the money from the home sale is gone, she will only get $45 month for her personal use. Her SS and retirement check will go to the state.

She has no family. I imagine long term care insurance would have helped her, but right now it doesn't matter. She has no one to leave any money to. She might as well, just spend it down and leave nothing behind.

Long term care insurance is not really affordable for most people.

Re: Long term care

FancyPhillyshopper — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:05:52 GMT

This is an important but sad topic. You can find lots of information on websites like AARP. Unfortunately, long-term care in facilities in extremely expensive, and the insurance options are shaky and somewhat complex. LTC premiums differ by age and by state. Potentially you should review the proposed LTC policy contracts with a lawyer so that every component is completely understood.

The cheapest solution is to be at home and have family members provide care--and hopefully they can be paid for that.

I have had family members in both of these situations, and there is never an easy solution. Best wishes.

Re: Long term care

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:13:12 GMT

I have an acquaintance that is currently in a nursing home, she has cancer, and is roughly 55 years old. She qualifies for medicaid.

I ask the question because thankfully DH and I have been good savers but we do not have long term insurance.

I wonder if there is a government plan that would allow family members to be a caretaker in the home instead of placing the person in a nursing home?

Re: Long term care

Carmie — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:21:04 GMT

@Mom2Dogs There are several government plans to help seniors stay in place in their homes.

One such plan will even pay family members to take care of you.

Other plans provide care in your home by aids.

There are so many plans available, but your income must be at a certain level and you must meet medical guidelines.

Re: Long term care

patbz — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:25:06 GMT

My parents self insured and its a good thing they started saving early and had a great estate plan. While they were in their own home they received round the clock care for 13 years. After my Dad passed, I flew my Mom to my small city in CA and she was in a convalescent home for three years. DH and I definitely learned from this experience and we got Long term care insurance when I was 59 and husband was 52. We still have it and haven't yet had to use it ( would cover a home or at home nursing). We both worked for Federal govt and our insurance pre dated when they started offering this but their policy and ours are approximately equivalent. I understand that trying to get it now is very difficult and very expensive. I'm 77 and my premium for me, alone is $2000 yearly ( a deal when you figure what nursing homes or homecare now cost). My DIL is Navajo and also an occupational therapist and she is caring for her Mom in DIL's home. Her Mom gives her her SS and daughter has put aside enough to provide a nice funeral and also buys her whatever she needs or wants ( including a 50" t.v. in her own bedroom). As far as I know, the only other reasonable option for most elderly is spending down to near poverty and then moving into convalescent home probably with a roommate ( not an ideal situation).

Re: Long term care

skatting44 — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:28:26 GMT

Had a relative that paid tens of thousands of dollars into LTC insurance through Federal Gov employee plan and it paid Nothing ! She became very ill and went into rehab with an endstage disease, she had to pay 6 months out of pocket before the LTC insurance would pay anything. She passed away within a month. No refund on any of the money . insurance is a racket

Re: Long term care

Foxxee — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:31:33 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
I have an acquaintance that is currently in a nursing home, she has cancer, and is roughly 55 years old. She qualifies for medicaid.

I ask the question because thankfully DH and I have been good savers but we do not have long term insurance.

I wonder if there is a government plan that would allow family members to be a caretaker in the home instead of placing the person in a nursing home?

@Mom2Dogs

You could talk to your state Department of Aging to see if anything is available. They would know about Federal, too.

Re: Long term care

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:37:57 GMT

@Carmie Am I understanding that if a person has a higher income level that family does not have the option to keep the loved one at home and also receive any assistance to pay family or a nursing aide to care for that person?

If you have to much money you could keep that person at home but paying for help would be on the family....correct?

Re: Long term care

Neetgal2 — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:38:12 GMT

For years I heard people say who had several daughters, it was Nursing Home insurance! Well in our family it was. I am thankful for many things in this world and one was being able to stay home while my daughter was young and the other taking care of my parents before they died. My Dad's doctor did see to it he had a male nurse come in every other day!

My parents also had real nursing home insurance but wanted to be in their own home. Thankfully it worked.

Re: Long term care

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:40:15 GMT

@skatting44 Wow, that is horrible. I guess it's important to read the really fine print.

Re: Long term care

BriggsiePeawiggle — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:41:30 GMT

My mother had it. She used it till it ran out -- two years. My brother took care of all the payments for her. He told me her long-term care insurance paid $75,000.00 before it ran out. My mom had it for about 10 years and never spent anything near that much for it back when she had it. My husband and I have it too -- and our financial advisor told me that it has gone way way up since we got ours, and that we should keep it. So we do.

Briggsie

Re: Long term care

patbz — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:45:41 GMT

@skatting44 : Long term care insurance is like car insurance in that it insures you against something that would be catastrophic, make you go broke. Its a bet that you'll need it and use it. Most policies don't start until you've paid the first 6 months or gone to a home directly from a hospital; its not a savings plan. That's why all of us should live within our means and plan for our elder years.

Re: Long term care

froggy — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:57:49 GMT

I wish I had taken my rmployer's plan while I was still working. They did not require a physical exam. I applied for LT insurance when I retired and they sent a paerson to our home to give us mental tests and fill out a very long questionnaire. Well I was 68 and my DH 73 at the time. Of course we had a history of medical problems. So we did not qualify.

When my father died we had to put my mother in a nursing home. She was a complete invalid - 90 years old - and there was no way any of us siblings could provide 24/7 home care. The only income she had was a small portion of my dad's pension and Social Security - somewhere around $2000/mth total. The full cost of the nursing home was somewhere around $10,000/mth. Even with her small income she barely qualified for Medicaid. The nursing home took it all except for about $100/mth. I just give these numbers to give an idea of the costs. If you are going to need nursing care for the rest of your life you are in trouble, especially if you actually have too much money to qualify for Medicaid.

I am just praying that one or another of the two of us is able to provide care at home for the other.

Re: Long term care

busymom22 — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 01:25:02 GMT

My parents took a LTC insurance policy out years ago at the suggestion of my uncle. At the time my mother laughed that she'd "never need it". She ended up getting dementia and received full care at home for 3 years. The insurance policy paid a large portion of that.

The problem now though is many companies stopped selling these policies and the ones that still do make it worthwhile only if you buy it early. If you wait until you have health issues you won't qualify.

Also, because costs have skyrocketed once you get a policy they will keep increasing your premiums. Some people get priced out this way. There really is no economical way to prepare for long term care expenses.

Re: Long term care

deeva — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 01:28:38 GMT

We've had it for about 14 years. Our type of coverage is no longer offered.

Well worth it if you can afford it.

Re: Long term care

Sooner — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 01:41:53 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
I have an acquaintance that is currently in a nursing home, she has cancer, and is roughly 55 years old. She qualifies for medicaid.

I ask the question because thankfully DH and I have been good savers but we do not have long term insurance.

I wonder if there is a government plan that would allow family members to be a caretaker in the home instead of placing the person in a nursing home?

@Mom2Dogs Even the best of savers get money funnled off at the many thousands a month is costs.

Everyone should see a lawyer and/or financial planner way ahead of time. A few hundred thousand goes pretty quick!

Re: Long term care

Icegoddess — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 02:18:03 GMT

We have policies. I think mine is only because they had a special deal for the two of us. My reason for wanting something for my husband was that he is a large man and there is no way that I could help him if he became unable to care for himself. He is very ant-nursing home, and I can certainly understand why.

That being said, I think there are now better options out there if you have a good nest egg. I know my financial advisor would like to get me into a different plan that pays immediately and that I can use how I see fit rather than jumping through hoops, but my husband doesn't want to go that route. He may be changing his mind though since we got the Premium letter the other day. Went up significantly for both of us and we're both very healthy people.

Nobody in my family has ever required a nursing home. My father needed someone in the home with him for awhile at one time and at the end of his life he was supposed to go to my sister's house. My husband's father had a live-in nurse for awhile until he fell and ended up in the hospital where he died. So, the idea of living long term in a nursing facility isn't really something we think a lot about.

Re: Long term care

drizzellla — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 02:28:17 GMT

My Parents looked into LT Insurance but the cost was $$$$ by the time they looked into it. And decided against buying it.

THEN my Dad had a stroke. He was in a nursing home for 10+ years. Then Mom went into assisted living. She quickly went into the nursing home. But she insisted on keeping her assisted living apartment so she could use her phone at will.

They also insisted that they keep their house. They both wanted to move back home.

My Dad's sister and her husband bought LT Insurance with a major insurance company. And thought they were set. My Aunt had dementia and went into a nursing home. After a few years her insurance coverage ended and the family had to pay for her nursing home expenses.

Not sure which is best.