Think You Are Too Young To Worry About LTC? Think Again!
I just read that the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says “The percentage of adults aged 45 to 64 years who reported needing help with activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, dressing, or getting around inside their residences has increased nearly 50% from 2000 to 2015. This was published in their weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on August 26th.
For years it has been known that 40% of the people needing Long Term Care (LTC) services in this country are between the ages of 18 and 64. LTC is not something that people can ignore until age 85. Just like car insurance, LTC insurance must be purchased while you are healthy – so you have it when you need it.
By 60 years of age, 25% of us cannot qualify healthwise to purchase LTC insurance. The great majority of people cannot afford to pay for such care out of pocket or savings for very long. This leaves them no alternative but to apply for a welfare program called Medicaid.
Medicaid will only pay for LTC when you can prove that you are completely impoverished. In most states that means you have less than $2000 left to your name and have cashed in your life insurance as well. A married spouse can retain use of the home and car but this goes back to the state – not your heirs – after last death.
LTC needs can last for many years. Alzheimer’s is only one of 68 different types of dementia. By age 65, one in eight have it. By age 75 it is one in four and by age 85 it is half of us.
This brings up another study published in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences that says “Older adults who do not exercise often – or do not exercise at all – have a 50% greater risk of developing dementia as they age”. Anyone with diabetes also faces a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Will you wait until it is too late to plan for your LTC when your health changes? Or will you proactively investigate solutions while they are still available? The ability to pay for care not only prevents impoverishment, but gives you choices as to how and where your care will be delivered.
Give TheLongTermCareGuy.com a call to meet and see what you can do for yourself. We are experts who have done nothing but work with LTC financing for 23 years now. There are solutions for almost any budget. (920) 884-3030 or (800) 219-9203
