Moving into an assisted living facility is incredibly expensive. It can also cost quite a bit for someone to receive nursing care in their own home. Some older adults create long-term care plans that involve Medicaid trusts to help them pay for support as they age. Other people may purchase special long-term care insurance.
Long-term care insurance can pay for a room in a nursing home or other skilled medical support required by someone who develops a disabling medical condition. Is long-term care insurance the right solution for an older adult who is concerned about care costs?
Long-term care policies are expensive
Most people start considering long-term care insurance in the decade leading up to their retirement. Even then, they could pay thousands of dollars per year in annual premiums. Those premiums tend to increase as people grow older in most cases, although some policies allow people to control their premiums in later years by investing in coverage earlier in life. Additionally, policies usually impose specific limits on how much they can pay out for policyholders who do become dependent on extensive outside care.
Particularly when someone already lives on a fixed income or is very close to retirement, long-term care insurance may not be a reasonable addition to their budget or the best solution for care costs. Older adults may become unable to pay their premiums, at which point they could be at risk of having few resources for their care needs later in life.
Reviewing one’s finances and health concerns with an attorney may help people plan the best approach for covering long-term care costs. Exploring every option can help people arrive at the best solution given their personal circumstances.
