Long Term Care is the type of care received either at home or in a facility, when someone needs assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing due to an accident, an illness or advancing age. Rising life expectancy means that the potential need for “long-term care” grows with every passing year of your life. The likelihood is that you or a member of your family will need long-term assistance due to a prolonged illness, a disability, or general deterioration of your health and ability to perform routine daily activities.
Most long-term care expenses are not covered by Social Security or Medicare, Medicare Supplement (“Medigap”), or private health insurance. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all nursing home care, but you must meet federal poverty guidelines and may have to “spend down” most of your assets on health care.
70% of Americans 65 and older will need some form of Long Term Care.1
Long-term care is the extra, personal assistance you may need to help maintain your quality of life.
12015 Medicare & You, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Long-term care provided in your home or in a facility can be very expensive.2
The hidden costs of long-term care for men and women:
- Women live an average of five years longer than men.3
- Women who provide unpaid care lose an average of $565K in income and retirement benefits over their lifetime.4
- 75% of unpaid caregivers are women.5
- 40% of seniors caring for spouse will pre-decease the spouse they are caring for.6
- Family caregivers are well intentioned, but ill prepared. The loved one whom they care for may get less quality care.7
Women are affected the most:
Women are affected the most by the impacts that long-term care can have on a family.8
Men are not off the hook:
Men feel the impact as much as women when it comes to financially preparing for future health care. There are costs regardless of which partner fails to plan. And both are equally affected by the financial and emotional burden.
2 Genworth Financial, Cost of Care Survey, 2015.
3 Long Term Care Associates, “LTC is a Women’s Issue… or is It?”, Stephan D. Forman, 4/20/16
4 A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance Planning, aaltci.org
5 American Association of Long Term Care Insurance, AALTCI Sourcebook, 2015-2016.
6 Ron Kaufamn, “How do I handle the strain of being a caregiver?” Caring.com, October 2016
7 The State of Long-Term Care: The Market, Challenges and Future Innovations, CIPR Study, May 2016.
8 Caregiving in the U.S. 2015, AARP Public Policy Institute
IMPACT Financial Group offers free, comparative quotes on Long Term Care Insurance from multiple insurance carriers so you can get the best possible rate.
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