Are you worried that you may lose all your lifes earnings and nest egg due to the rising costs of in-home long term care? As you get older do you have the necessary finances to protect yourself from going broke while slightly incapacitated? Many seniors are worried about are worried about the costs of long-term health care. Are you worried that if something happens to you, that you may run out of money and burn thru their reserves and all your nest egg. Even be forced to sell your paid for home to survive? The costs for long-term in home care are rising, just like the current costs in health care. The average nursing home stay is 2.5 to 5 years of care with a cost of $135.00 per day. At that rate it will not take log to burn thru piles of cash. This is a concern of seniors and rightfully so. It is very important to have long-term care insurance in order to protect your assets and give you peace of mind. You need the assurance of quality care, choice and control over receipt of care. As we get older we do not wish to burden our offspring to come take care of us as they have their own family obligations; so we will want to avoid dependence and it might be nice to receive some tax advantages too. Paying for Long-Term Care requires some strategic planning; either thru family pact to take care of you or long term care insurance. Nothing is not guaranteed and do not expect the government to foot the bill. You see medicare is great but this program may pay for skilled nursing facility care for a very short period of time but no longer than 100 days and only when you meet all the Medicare requirements for daily skilled care. If you live in California there is Medi-Cal, but this program, called Medicaid outside California, may pay for skilled, rehabilitation and custodial care that is not covered by Medicare, but only if you first spend-down assets to federal and state legal impoverishment level guidelines. Can you pay for your care thru personal or family assets without selling your home? Most people provide for long-term care expenses from personal or family income, assets and resources. Your more strategic choice for Long-Term Care may involve having an insurance program. Specially designed programs to pay for long-term health care expenses are viable option. HIPAA defines Federal tax treatment of insurance policies that provide long-term care coverage. Policies that meet certain criteria are designated as qualified long-term care insurance and will receive certain tax incentives: the cost of coverage may be deductible and long term care benefits received will not be reported as taxable income. Please consult your tax advisor for information about your personal situation. Play it safe and know your options regarding long-term health care and know protect your assets. Think on this. |
