My first job as a Registered Nurse was at a hospital in Houston. My colleague Judy confided in me that her 42 year old cousin was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. She was a Second Grade Teacher in Dallas, very athletic, health conscious, and leading an active life with her husband and two children. There was no family history of Alzheimer’s. Judy and her cousin grew up together and were very close. She could not understand how this happened and everyone in the family was in a state of shock. During the next three years, Judy told me how costly the care was for her cousin, and how it was draining their family’s assets. The children’s college fund was used to care for her cousin. Eventually she was transferred to an assisted living facility where the cost was $70,000 a year. In addition, there were many other expenses. Eventually, they to sell their house and were near bankruptcy.
Her cousin’s husband blamed himself because when they got married, they consulted with a financial planner. He recommended that since they were in their late twenties, they should get Long Term Care Insurance. The younger you are, the less expensive it costs. In their case since they were both professionals and made a combined annual salary of $87,000 a year, they could have easily owned an excellent plan at a very low premium. They both decided to pass on the advice. They felt that the odds of them needing long term care insurance were slim to none. So why give money to the insurance company unnecessarily when they could use the money for so many other things.
No one was to blame in this tragic situation. We are not fortune tellers in our lives. All we can do is make the best decision we can with the information we have at the time. Unfortunately, these types of situations happen more frequently than people realize. Please contact me with any questions, and I will give you the very best advice I can with all the information I have.
One of the most common misconceptions people have about their health insurance or Medicare benefits is that they think it will pay for the long-term care services they may need. Your health insurance pays for doctor and hospital bills. However, if you develop a chronic illness or become disabled and are unable to care for yourself for an extended period of time, you are going to need long-term care services. These services aren’t cheap! For example, eight hours a day of home health care can cost between $40,000 and $70,000 annually. Full-time nursing home care averages $70,000 to $80,000 per year. In some regions of the country, such as the Northeast for example, the cost may be twice that amount.
If you can afford long-term care insurance, I advise you to consider it. Forty percent of patients receiving long-term care are under the age of sixty five. There’s about a seventy percent chance you’ll need some type of long-term care after age sixty five. If you have the ability to pay for care without significantly impacting your assets, you may not need long-term care insurance. Please contact me to find out if this type of insurance would be in your best interest.
