A Long Term Care Nightmare
I was speaking with a friend and explained that I’m working with Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) and briefly how it worked. He wasn’t aware there was such a thing but I clued him in on how expensive Home Care Nursing, Assisted Living and Nursing Homes are getting. He thought Medicare took care of all that when the time comes.
Todd is a confirmed bachelor in his 50s and has no plans for marriage. No kids, No siblings.
He began by telling me how his parents were both in their 70s and having a tough time with dementia and injuries from the Vietnam war. Although the father is taken care of by the VA, he’s goes in and out of their care. Sometimes nursing homes and sometimes home. His mom is home – with Alzheimers. Mom’s only option outside of home care is a Medicaid Nursing Home which would require liquidating assets. And this could deprive the father of his intermittent home care. It would have to be his permanent residence.
So now Todd, who owns and runs his own business is taking care of his mother at home with dementia and sometimes his father who gets moved from place to place. He’s paying for part time home care so he can run his business and staying with his parents to cover overnight.
Why am I telling you this?
Just think if his parents had Long Term Care Insurance in place…
1) They would get full or part time home care to start with before moving to Assisted Living or eventually a Nursing Home
2) The parents’ estate would be preserved
3) My client would be able to run his business without having to take care of his parents and run their affairs.
So, Todd made a decision for himself. Seeing what his parents are going through, Todd decided to get Long Term Care insurance for himself. He knows he will be taken care of now.
And think - If you have children, would you want your children to go through what Todd is going through? Would you willingly risk disrupting their lives?
Sad to say, you can’t necessarily depend on others, no matter how dear to you. Circumstances change with children, siblings and other relatives. They may not be there for you, even if they want to be.
So…
Think of Long Term Care Insurance as an integral part of your retirement planning. It’s a way of mitigating the risk and ensuring you have care – no matter what happens.