Is long term Care a smart decision?

needshave

needshave

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Location
Ohio
I have a father-in-law that is in poor condition. As I help him in doctor visits, emergency room visits, hospital stays and rehab I start to consider my own situation. Should I investigate Long term Care? I will be 70 in November and with my father in laws problems and experiences it has been an Eye Opener. I have talked to a few people with mixed opinions. One has long term care Insurance, he has had it for 12 years. He does not know what its going to be like when He needs it, he fears it may have been a loss of funds. SO far he feels the only thing they have done for them has cashed his checks.

So is there anyone that has done all the research an is willing to share there thoughts? I have been trying to research and there is a ton of information out there, how much do you believe. Many I have found are self financing a 40 hours health care professional to visit the home when that time comes, rather than pay a premium for care in a very expensive nursing home somewhere. Its all very difficult and hard to sort out. If you have thoughts or experiences, I would love to hear them.
 

Yes it is. The reason I say this is because you never know what can happen. A mini stroke can cause dementia and fast. If this happens and you have no plans in place , then your health is up to anyone’s guess.

Most countries have free or subsidized services that are available to you in the comfort of your own home.

Here in Canada nursing homes are subsidized. The government will pay 50% if you can afford it and 100% if you can’t. You cannot get kicked out, except If you are overly violent to other residents.

Once you need healthcare 24/7 it’s actually much cheaper to go into a nursing home with full services than trying to deal with and pay for services at home especially if your mind is going or gone.
 
I worked for a senior healthcare company for 4 1/2 years. We had passenger vans that would pickup patients, take them to a Center where they would get medical and dental exams/attention, a nice lunch, play some games and then be taken home by the same van. It cost, but not as much as a living facility would.
 

Keesha said:
Yes it is. The reason I say this is because you never know what can happen. A mini stroke can cause dementia and fast. If this happens and you have no plans in place , then your health is up to anyone’s guess.

Most countries have free or subsidized services that are available to you in the comfort of your own home.

Here in Canada nursing homes are subsidized. The government will pay 50% if you can afford it and 100% if you can’t. You cannot get kicked out, except If you are overly violent to other residents.

Once you need healthcare 24/7 it’s actually much cheaper to go into a nursing home with full services than trying to deal with and pay for services at home especially if your mind is going or gone.
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Yes, My father in law is receiving care at home, which includes a LPN that is in every week, a Physical therapist that try to work with him, although unless a family member is there he refuses to do it. They get meals delivered to them for lunch each day and now dr care if needed or if X-rays, or testing is done they will actually come to the house to do it. He is almost 91. However he is very weak and that has become a problem for him to get around unless he is a rehab center with someone to care for him. But he now only has 6 days left of rehab care left before insurance runs out. (He has to be out of rest home, hospital, rehab center for 100 days before funding will kick back in for rehab) So because of his weakened state that how the long term care insura
 
-nce concerns came about. Yet, I'm not even sure that would cover his care. To stay in the current facility, they would be required to pay 175.00 per day, out of pocket, to maintain current location and service including all meals, but they refuse to pay it.
 
LTC insurance is similar to most insurance....it's a waste of money Until/Unless you need it. We took out a policy with Bankers Life, decades ago, and it has built up to the point where the wife and I are covered for $250K each....and that amount increases every year....and so do the premiums. The problem you may find is that at your age, approaching 70, the premiums may be Very Large.
 
Don M. said:
LTC insurance is similar to most insurance....it's a waste of money Until/Unless you need it. We took out a policy with Bankers Life, decades ago, and it has built up to the point where the wife and I are covered for $250K each....and that amount increases every year....and so do the premiums. The problem you may find is that at your age, approaching 70, the premiums may be Very Large.
Click to expand...

Thanks Don,

What happens when you reach 250K? How is that handled if you are in a state of disrepair yet functional?

I have asked for quotations, nothing yet.

Here is some data for my area:
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Private Room Annual Rate: $102,382.50
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Semi-Private Room Annual Rate: $88,764.35
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (2 bedroom): $6,145.28 (73.7+)
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (1 bedroom): $5,294.79 (63.5+
 
needshave said:
Thanks Don,

What happens when you reach 250K? How is that handled if you are in a state of disrepair yet functional?

I have asked for quotations, nothing yet.

Here is some data for my area:
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Private Room Annual Rate: $102,382.50
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Semi-Private Room Annual Rate: $88,764.35
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (2 bedroom): $6,145.28 (73.7+)
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (1 bedroom): $5,294.79 (63.5+
Click to expand...
What????😧
Oh goodness. Basic accommodation here is about $1,890 a month. Private I think is $2400
It includes room cleaned daily, laundry done once a week, name sewed in all garments, 3 meals a day, 2 snacks, 2 baths or showers per week, help with medication, help with mobility, help with toiletries, entertainment, daily activities, crafts etc.

The only thing it doesn’t cover is nail care and hair cutting & styling. Some cover physiotherapy and some dont

I wish you the best
 
needshave said:
Thanks Don,

What happens when you reach 250K? How is that handled if you are in a state of disrepair yet functional?
Click to expand...

IF/When we reach the LTC limits, I suppose the options would be something like a Reverse Mortgage, or begin to bleed down the bank accounts and investments. At the rate our policy is increasing, and if we live as long as our parents did, our policy should be at least $350K each....enough to last 2 or 3 years, I would hope. Beyond that, if we are in such bad shape, we probably won't care much about what happens to us. We have stipulated in our Wills, Powers of Attorney,etc., that there will be no extraordinary measures taken if we are diagnosed with a major health issue....just pump us up with morphine, and let nature take its course. The kids are on board with our wishes, and hopefully we can leave them something rather that giving our life's work to the doctors/hospitals/caregivers.

We recently had a meeting with the Ins. Co. rep, and he said that there are fewer and fewer companies offering LTC insurance, so you can bet that the ones still making those policies will be charging higher and higher rates. If you are nearing 70, be prepared for some serious "sticker shock" on the price of these policies....if any of these Insurance companies even respond...they may not even want to make a quote at your age.
 
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Keesha said:
What????😧
Oh goodness. Basic accommodation here is about $1,890 a month. Private I think is $2400
It includes room cleaned daily, laundry done once a week, name sewed in all garments, 3 meals a day, 2 snacks, 2 baths or showers per week, help with medication, help with mobility, help with toiletries, entertainment, daily activities, crafts etc.

The only thing it doesn’t cover is nail care and hair cutting & styling. Some cover physiotherapy and some dont

I wish you the best
Click to expand...
 
ClassicRockr said:
I worked for a senior healthcare company for 4 1/2 years. We had passenger vans that would pickup patients, take them to a Center where they would get medical and dental exams/attention, a nice lunch, play some games and then be taken home by the same van. It cost, but not as much as a living facility would.
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rocker, We have a very nice senior center that does much the same. It even has exercise, water aerobics, etc. Cost of lunch is minimal I think 2.50. Many evening programs, movies, trips. etc. Very nice program.
 
Since I'm married and the concern for long range care is 2fold, we are trying to look out for each other that monies are available for the care of each other.
It's impossible to predict
 
needshave said:
Thanks Don,

What happens when you reach 250K? How is that handled if you are in a state of disrepair yet functional?

I have asked for quotations, nothing yet.

Here is some data for my area:
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Private Room Annual Rate: $102,382.50
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Semi-Private Room Annual Rate: $88,764.35
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (2 bedroom): $6,145.28 (73.7+)
  • Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (1 bedroom): $5,294.79 (63.5+
Click to expand...
Here in Long Island in ny my buddy is on medicaid now as all his assets are gone and it is 112k a year....Parkinson’s did him in and he can’t function on his own ....
 
mathjak107 said:
Here in Long Island in ny my buddy is on medicaid now as all his assets are gone and it is 112k a month ....Parkinson’s did him in and he can’t function on his own ....
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$112,000 A month? or year? Is this in a full service facility?
 
needshave said:
Since I'm married and the concern for long range care is 2fold, we are trying to look out for each other that monies are available for the care of each other.
It's impossible to predict
Click to expand...

one of the biggest problems our attorney sees are the so called self insurers ...

they call it self insuring because they hope they don't need to spend money on care but other than in name , nothing else was done ...

then trouble strikes and the stay at home spouse goes in to panic mode as they realize they can be impoverished and the money they counted on is the same money counted on to generate the income for the stay at home spouse .

to really self insure means you have to act like an insurance company .. that means a big pool of money segragated from the income generating pool , in safe low yielding investments .

anything else is not self insuring , it is trying to rule out bad things from really happening rather than planning and allowing for it .

we opted for a ny partnership plan for long term care .. we can leave all the assets invested working efficiently , and just a small portion of that return pays for our policy .

our policy protects all our assets once the 3 years insurance runs out .. it also has no cap on the stay at home spouses income and a special version of medicaid called MEC pays the bills with our partnership plan . we have no look back , no spendown , no recovery , all assets are protected .
 

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