Long Term Care in Colorado
Coloradans are a fortunate group. Most experience breathtaking views every day they live in Colorado. What can cloud the view and make for an unpleasant future is failure to plan for long and drawn out illnesses, no matter the age.
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Determining What Coverage is Needed
If you believe that disability insurance from your workplace covers against everything, think again. If you were wise enough to buy more disability insurance coverage in addition to what your job offers, that is just the beginning.
The reason is that disability helps by replacing a percentage of your income. That is wonderful, except that if you are disabled, it is likely you have special needs that cost more than your former salary would have covered.
That means that the combined disability payments that replace 80 percent of your salary fall too far short.
Fortunately you are alive, though you might be wondering how life insurance might pay out in a near-death scenario that leaves you needing extra care. It normally does not pay anything for you, unless you have the foresight to explore a few options.
- Ask your life insurance agent before you buy your policy
- In some policies, you may cash out the death benefit for long term care
The drawback with cashing out a life insurance plan to cover long term care costs is that you lose your life insurance. The idea of life insurance is to preserve your standard of living for the loved ones you leave behind. Truth is that if you need long term care, you may likely be nearing the end of life.
Long term care insurance provides financial resources for such in between care. The ability to cash in on long term care insurance comes when ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) is inhibited.
Suddenly, you might need help dressing yourself, getting around, bathing, making meals, taking special medications and even shopping.
Long term care may provide:
- Home Health Aides
- Skilled Nursing Facility Care
- Nursing Home Care
- Assisted Living Centers
- Adult Day Care
- Associated Supplies
- Maid Service
- Meal Preparation
- Alzheimer's Center Care
- In-Home Care
- Hospice Care
- Respite Care
You might be surprised to find that that is not a full list of services. It is one type of insurance that may vary among the different providers and policies you are offered. Always read a policy thoroughly, especially where your long term care is involved.
Carefully review the agreement to find out if the carrier can increase premiums at any time during the policy. It is normal for that to be the case. Additionally, find out if there are any limits to annual overall premium increases. Otherwise, you may find yourself paying your premium for 20 years and then suddenly being unable to keep up with the premiums.
What to Look for in Long Term Care
When you are buying coverage, it is wise to explore the offerings that the carriers provide.
In addition, make sure you figure out what you want out of the long term care plan that is for you. Review the articles at the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
Facts about Long Term Care Recipients
- Start out by understanding that most people rely on long term care an average of two to five years.
- Costs of services per year are up to 70,000 dollars annually for long term care.
- Factor that the insurance premiums average 3,000 to 5,000 dollars and up per year.
You can slightly reduce the cost of care by having an emergency savings fund specifically for long term care. This way, you can delay the amount of time before your long term care would kick into effect. In other words, the longer your waiting period before coverage starts, the lower your premiums will cost.
One surprising area that costs long term care customers more is supplies. The add-ons on a nursing home or in-home care bill chip away at the long term care insurance benefits. Consider looking at what types of supplies long term care insurance policies provide before signing up for any plan.
Colorado Department of Regulatory Services lists resources that may help in your search for the right policy for you.
Building the Foundation for Caring
Basically, the idea is that long term care itself is expensive and may deplete all of your savings and force your family to sell off assets and liquidate accounts to pay for care. Instead, buying long term care coverage offers one way to prevent such drastic actions.
After all, the statistics state that 50 percent of the population will require long term care at some point. The rest of the statistic is that it is only for up to five years. If you are fairly young and require care, but old enough to have made headway on a mortgage, that brings up two great points. Without proper long term care insurance, you will find yourself losing your home and not having a place to live maybe the rest of your life.
Instead of relying entirely on long term care insurance, consider building a stronger foundation for an uncertain future by layering different resources together. For instance, have a life insurance investment policy that allows cashing out, while keeping another for your family's benefit.
Save cash for bigger emergencies, like needing long term care. Another way to make the most of your money is to buy a long term care policy while you are still relatively young and healthy. The reason is two-fold.
For one, while you are healthy you will qualify for long term care insurance. Once you have cancer, dementia or are diagnosed with Alzheimer's, for instance, you will be disqualified for any long term care insurance policies for which you apply.
The other aspect of applying while you are still young is that policies are offered at much lower rates than for older people.
If you are still not convinced, look at the statistics provided by Colorado State University.
Get the Lowdown on Insurance Companies and Agents
While you are researching the qualities you want in an insurance policy, review the agents and carriers that are delivering your policy. For instance, review the carrier's ability to pay claims and find out whether your agent is trustworthy or has had professional actions to keep him or her in line.
For more on this type of background information, look at the Colorado Web Portal.
Long term care insurance is one type of policy worth buying. As with all insurance policies, it pays to do your homework. Figure out what you need, learn the rules of this coverage and buy what you can afford. Every little bit of financial support toward long term care coverage helps.
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