Can you imagine not being able to perform basic tasks like feeding, bathing, or dressing yourself? If you are recovering from a serious illness or injury, you may need help with basic tasks. Long-term care insurance can help by allowing you the option of how you want to receive care, and it will help pay the cost of health and medical bills to decrease some of the stress of recovery.
By definition, long-term care coverage is for care lasting over a year, so it’s important to decide where you’d like to recover. If, however, your recovery takes less than a year, some long-term care products offer a restoration of benefits so the money used can be replenished (after a waiting period) to be used later on should you need care again, or a return of premium rider to refund a portion of the premium you’ve paid if your coverage ends.
52% of people 65 and over will need some type of long-term care services in their lifetimes.1
Control Your Long-Term Care Insurance Policy Coverage
The greatest benefit of long-term care insurance is that YOU decide where you will receive care depending on your needs and wishes as long as the facility meets federal requirements for a long-term care facility. Whether you want nurses and aides to take care of you in the privacy of your own home, or around the clock care and access to healthcare professionals and specialists in a facility, you should determine where you will feel the most comfortable.
Long-Term Care Facility Options
With so many different plans to choose from, you have options on what kind of care you will be covered for.
Home Care
If you would like to stay at home for your care, long-term care insurance plans can cover care, services, and supplies to make your recovery comfortable.
Coverage can include:
- Visits by aides, nurses, and specialists
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
- Delivery of meals
- Food shopping
- Domestic cleaning and laundry services
Adult Day Care
Adult Day Care facilities offer programs and care during the day and still allow you to sleep in the comfort of your own home. These facilities can vary in the type of care they offer, like dementia care, social interaction programs, or medical care.
Coverage can include:
- Transportation to and from the facility
- Meals at the facility
Facility Care
If you would like to be taken care of at a facility with a full staff of doctors, nurses, and specialists, facility care is right for you.
Coverage can include:
- Nursing homes
Facilities with skilled staff 24 hours/day that offer rehabilitative services, daily activities, housekeeping, and meals throughout the stay that support those who need a lot of assistance with daily activities. Residents live in rooms in a building with semi-private bathrooms and can share the room with a second person.
- Assisted living facilities
Facilities with skilled staff that may or may not be available all day. These facilities usually offer individual living spaces along with common areas that host activities. Meals and housekeeping are offered to residents. These are perfect for people who require a little help with daily activities but are still pretty self-sufficient.
- Residential healthcare facilities
Facilities with limited part-time skilled staff in home-life living arrangements. These also offer daily meals and housekeeping, but no around-the-clock monitoring by professionals or monitoring equipment in each living space.
Minimize the Financial Burden: Average Cost of Long Term Care Increases Over Decades
Long-term care insurance coverage is meant to protect your savings. The cost of care keeps increasing. You don’t want your recovery to be a financial burden on top of being an emotional one.
Your care should be about YOU, and long-term care insurance can support your care needs, wishes, and budget.
1AARP, Long-Term Support and Services, 2017. 2Genworth, Cost of Care Survey 2008, 2008. 3Genworth, Cost of Care Survey 2018, 2018.
