March 15, 2013
Insurance is an important investment that provides coverage for so many different aspects of our lives. Odds are, you know how important it is to carry insurance for your home, auto, and life, and that it’s important to carry health insurance, but one type of insurance that doesn’t get enough credit is long term care insurance, unfortunately, many don’t realize how important it is.
This insurance provides coverage against the financial risks you stand to face if you ever need long term care services, whether you’re receiving long term care in your home or a treatment facility. Long term care insurance extends beyond medical treatment and nursing home care, providing coverage inclusive of all the kinds of care you’d need if you had a chronic illness or disability, in the event that you were unable to care for yourself for a long period of time.
Many people quickly think of the elderly when they hear the term ‘long term care insurance,’ but in fact, anyone could benefit from having long term care insurance. Although many elderly people do end up needing long term care in their own home or at another facility, even younger people could end up in an unfortunate situation resulting in the need for long term care. For example, what if a thirty year old was in a horrible car accident and was left needing rehabilitative care, both physically and mentally, and was unable to care for himself? Aside from accidents, younger people could end up needing the care too in case of some kind of chronic illness or other cause of disability.
Long term care can be incredibly expensive, and the average monthly cost for an assisted living facility is usually about $2,000, with annual averages around $50,000. Even choosing care at home can get expensive when things like physical aides or rehabilitative services are considered.
Unfortunately, it’s up to the person who needs the care to pay for it. Medicare and Medicaid don’t cover long term care expenses, and family or friends only pay one-fourth of the bill on average. Additionally, most health insurance plans don’t pay for long term care either. Supplemental insurance doesn’t pay for long term care either.
It’s wise to buy long term care insurance as it alleviates the stress of these possible expenses being put on your family, and will help ease your mind so you don’t have to wonder how you’d be cared for if something should happen. There are several types of long term care insurance available, and the most popular kinds are indemnity insurance, expense incurred policies, and integrated policies.
While it may be difficult to think about anything happening that would lead you to needing long term care, remember that insurance is all about protection, and purchasing long term care insurance is just one more piece of protection for you and your loved ones, protecting not only your financial assets and theirs, but also everyone’s peace of mind. Contact one of the licensed health insurance agents at California Health plans to find out what long term care coverage would be best for you.
Call California Health Plans at 1-800-585-1776 to discuss longer term care insurance.
