Save on Long Term Care Insurance Premiums

Who wants long term care? Of course, nobody wants it but according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 70% of the elderly population 65 years of age and older will need it. This explains why many people feel the urgency of securing a long term care insurance policy, but the problem is that long term care insurance premiums are also prohibitive.

The cost of care is too much for an average American family to bear especially if a member of the household requires serious care in a nursing home which currently charges an average annual rate of $77,745.

Assisted living facilities and home health care are not better options either since they are not any cheaper than nursing homes. Individuals who are on assisted living pay out $3,261 every month on average while those who are getting in-home care fork out $36,480 annually for a home health aide who is responsible for providing assistance to an elderly or disabled individual with the activities of daily living (ADL) such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring.

Meanwhile, some people receiving in-home care seemingly pay out a bigger amount of money than those in nursing homes since they have to pay out more money if they want to receive homemaker services.

It is important to note that while there are home health aides that offer homemaker services, they are not obligated to do so because the latter is a completely different type of long term care (LTC) service. Homemaker services basically cover cooking, housecleaning, laundering, and running errands.

Whether you visualize yourself in a nursing home or aging in place, you will unquestionably spend a lot of money for care and thus the importance of having an effective LTC plan.
Making Long Term Care Insurance Premiums More Manageable

Every one of us wants to stay healthy until our final days on earth. Unfortunately, not everybody will have this fate as a bigger percentage of the American population is expected to require chronic care in 2030, which is the same year that the cost of care is projected to increase fourfold.

Instead of the average hourly rate of $19, those who will be receiving custodial care from a home health aide 20 years down the road can expect to pay out as much as $76 per hour which is equivalent to an annual rate of $145,920.

Meanwhile, assisted living facilities will have a monthly rate of $13,044 while the estimated annual rate of nursing homes would be $310,980 when that time comes.

Long term care (LTC) specialists have stressed many times that the only solution to LTC costs is a good plan such as a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy. Though the four-digit annual premium will require you to slightly adjust your lifestyle, this is better than shouldering the five-digit cost of care, or worse, six digits.

One thing that nobody wants to experience is leaving home for a nursing facility but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service says 40% of the country’s elderly population will inevitably have to.

Rather than risk your assets to nursing home expenses invest in an LTCI policy. Unlike the rates of LTC facilities, long term care insurance premiums are definitely negotiable.