Financial Security from Washington Long Term Care Insurance

Critics of long term care insurance may be partially right when they said this product is more about preserving people’s wealth rather than their health. In Washington long term care insurance is, indeed, treated as a safety net what with the state’s very high cost of care which is expected to grow four times more in 2030. Washingtonians could’ve had an alternative with the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act) but this health care program died before it even started operation so members of the working class are definitely turning back their attention to long term care insurance (LTCI) policies. However effective in providing financial protection, this is not the only way LTCI policies function as these have benefitted millions of Americans health care wise, too. This insurance product allows people who are incapable of performing the regular activities of daily living (ADL) and those with chronic illnesses to receive care in their preferred long term care (LTC) setting or in a multi-level care facility. According to the report of the AARP Public Policy Institute, 89% of the elderly who are 50 years of age and over prefer to receive care at home for as long as they can. Although Medicaid has been supporting in-home care since its funding cutbacks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 40% of the elderly population over 65 years old will inevitably enter a nursing home at some point in their lives. Without an LTCI policy you will have a hard time receiving nursing home coverage from Medicaid since it has been cutting down its nursing home costs. As a matter of fact, each state’s Medicaid beneficiaries who have been receiving care in nursing homes were already released and sent back to their homes or moved to a community-based LTC facility where they now continue to receive care. In-home care and community-based LTC facilities cost lesser than nursing home care and thus allowing Medicaid to recover from its massive LTC expenditures in previous years. Washington Long Term Care Insurance Policies and the Pains of Not Having One Although the government’s objective in cutting down Medicaid funding for nursing home care is for the good of each of the indigent families in the country, it did not turn out beneficial to all. According to Medicaid’s elderly beneficiaries who were formerly receiving care in nursing homes, in-home care is not conducive to their health and perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that they were already receiving a higher level of care before they were discharged from a nursing home. Unfortunately, uninsured individuals who are relying solely on Medicaid for their LTC needs do not have much choice but to make do with whatever limited service that is provided to them. If you want to have a say on your health care then you have to plan for it just the way you did for your home, your career, and most especially for your family. If you start looking at the offerings of a Washington long term care insurance policy today, rest assured that your life upon retirement will be blissful and free from financial worries.