Long Term Care Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance is a transfer of risk to an insurance company to pay for the cost of long term care.

A common misconception is that Medicare covers long term care costs. It does not. Medicare is health care and long term care is custodial care.

The costs for long term care insurance vary greatly, depending on a variety of factors, such as health, age, benefit amount, benefit period, inflation protection, etc. People who don’t have insurance for long term care, usually spend down their savings within one or two years.

Benefits are triggered when the insured can no longer function independently. This means that if the insured experiences mental or physical disability, the policy will start paying benefits.

Long term care insurance is not only needed when a person is permanently confined to a bed, but also if only part time assistance, such as help with dressing, washing or feeding, is needed.