seniorpetra
New Member
Hello,
I need to discuss regarding the LTC and " Self-insure" trust for long term care.
I need to discuss regarding the LTC and " Self-insure" trust for long term care.
what about a hybrid life . ltc insurance policy ? they are way less tougher to getI have no choice but to "self insure". I have/had pre-existing conditions that made me un-insurable both with our state retiree LTC plan offering and AARP's. For that reason I'm continuing to save/invest using most of my SS. I live in New Jersey which has some of the highest nursing home rates in the country. My retiree insurance through Aetna will pay for 120 days per benefit period of nursing home or home health care but I believe that is via reimbursement, not up front. Benefit periods start again after 60 days of being out of a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Each admission to a SNF must be via transfer from a hospital. It is my hope that if it ever comes to that...I'd be able to get a very good care at home or at least be able to use that option for awhile. The cost difference is quite significant. This website shows the monthly cost of SNF by state as well as the cost of different care options. https://www.seniorliving.org/nursing-homes/costs/
Thank you...I will check into this.what about a hybrid life . ltc insurance policy ? they are way less tougher to get
https://www.investopedia.com/insurance/paying-longterm-care-how-its-changing/
it still does not solve the problem of protecting assets once that money runs out and or impoverishing the stay at home spouse
which is why we opted for a state partnership plan for ltc .. pretty much all offer them , but only two states offer full asset protection like ours does . most are dollar for dollar protection .We have paid-up "hybrid life insurance" and are planning to self insure beyond that.
But frankly, the amount of money that a couple will actually need is a bit of a "crap shoot."
Lets pray we and your family never need full nursing home care. I do wonder if in the earlier days the options were less than today. Both my MIL and her father spent years in a SNH facility.DH and I are self insuring, at least partly because CA's Medicaid asset seizure is less draconian than most states. If there's a living spouse, the family home (of any value) is excluded from asset assessment, the spouse can keep $126K in liquid assets, and $3161 monthly "spousal allowance" is also shielded. None of this is subject to a later clawback if the non-Medicaid spouse survives the Medicaid spouse. Not even when both spouses have passed.
Yes, there are a lot of scares regarding long term nursing home care costs, but in my experience very few people actually spend months or years in Skilled Nursing Facilities these days. In fact, over the past 20 years none of my or my husband's relatives have spent long periods in SNFs. Assisted Living, yes. Nursing homes, no.
The lion's share of SNF patients are released within a few weeks. ALs have picked up more and more of the care previously only supplied by home health aides and nursing homes.
With hospice and end of life care moving toward not prolonging life when there's little quality remaining, I don't see myself or my husband needing years of SNF care. Maybe that's naive. Who knows?
Good ALs cost roughly $4K a month, memory care with all the bells and whistles are closer to $5K. We could manage that. SNFs are closer to $10K, a less doable option and a far less pleasant environment.
Life is fraught with risks and gambles.Lets pray we and your family never need full nursing home care. I do wonder if in the earlier days the options were less than today. Both my MIL and her father spent years in a SNH facility.
Yeah, Star...or get that "one way ticket to Oregon" as hub says!Life is fraught with risks and gambles.
Hubby and I have both expressed strong desires for an easy exit over a long-term nursing home existence because of a condition that offers no hope of improvement.
Guess we need to start stashing meds that will offer an easier way out of this life if it comes down to that.
It's just up the coast...Yeah, Star...or get that "one way ticket to Oregon" as hub says!
Eek! Couldn't do that. What a terrible scene for someone to stumble on, not to mention clean up. Pills would be my exit of preference.I cannot imagine much of anything worse than year after year in some nursing home with no hope of recovery or improvement or any quality of life. If I ever find myself facing something like that, I hope I can find the courage to do something about it. A judiciously applied .38 to the temple comes to mind if all else fails . . . .
I'm sorry about your FIL, @mathjak107. That must have been difficult to watch. Did he do a long stint in a nursing home?my wifes father inlaw was a big smoker ...he used to say all the time . why should i stop smoking if i enjoy it , for what , so i can live a year or two longer ? if i get cancer i will just pull the trigger on my gun .
well he got lung cancer and he cried like a baby for being so stupid , he begged for each additional day to live ...
so all this talk about doing one's self in rarely comes to pass as we have a huge drive to live .
he was at home ... he lived 2 days after we got married . they carried him downstairs , he saw us get married and died 2 days laterI'm sorry about your FIL, @mathjak107. That must have been difficult to watch. Did he do a long stint in a nursing home?
he was at home ... he lived 2 days after we got married . they carried him downstairs , he saw us get married , which we had to do at the house so we cancelled our wedding plans and he died 2 days later.
so all those who think they are pulling the trigger better have a back up plan for when they don't or can't
So he wasn't confined to a nursing home, literally lying there waiting to die for months or years with no hope of any improvement?he was at home ... he lived 2 days after we got married . they carried him downstairs , he saw us get married and died 2 days later