Is long term care insurance really worth the investment?
The short answer?
Yes, of course long term care insurance is worth it.
The longer answer, though? That dives into the “why” long term care insurance is so worth investing in.
That’s covers the questions like “What is Long term Care Insurance?” “What does long term care insurance cover?” “Who qualifies for long term care insurance?” “Can I just take care of them myself?”
When Long Term Care Insurance arises in your Life
Think of it this way:
As the interconnected communities we are and we continue to grow into, we are lucky to have so many around us– family, friends, and those in between friends that really just feel like family. Because we are so connected, we want each of those individuals close to us to be properly cared for in all the ways they need care, when they need it.
According to the National Council on Aging, Americans are living longer. Those are the people in your life that you care so much for. They are living longer, and you get to spend more time with them. That means they (and you) get more time spent in those golden years, yes, but also in the time beyond them, in the years filled with all the hurdles that come with aging minds and bodies. Its in this time that there is a slow decline in the ability to perform activities of daily living.
These are the movements of our livelihoods that live in the passive background of day-to-day life. It may not seem like a lot to us now, but there is a time where we will need help bathing, dressing, getting in and out of bed, walking, using the bathroom or even eating.
Normally, the beginning stages of this care comes from within the network of family and friends, helping here and there, and when they can. Just in 2020, there were 41.8 million Americans who were providing unpaid care and assistance to an aging adult over 50. 89% of these caregivers were directly related or married to those they were helping.
These are considered “family caregivers”. They are the ones providing help with those activities of daily living but also giving emotional, financial, and social care. The majority of these family caregivers volunteer their time, while they have adequate time to gift to those loved ones in their lives.
But what happens when the needed care exceeds the time available to be given? The average time spent providing this type of informal, friendly or familial care is 23.7 hours each week. As these individuals continue to age, their need for attention- even specialized attention- expands and becomes harder to provide.
Its then that the pursuit to find the right care provider begins. Some families begin by paying out of pocket, trying to supplement care and manage costs from their own wallets. With this move from providing the care themselves to a professional, and not knowing that each year, volunteer family caregivers like themselves actually give $470 billion in unpaid labor, they often meet a cost they were not prepared to finance long term.
This is where Long Term Care Insurance comes into play and helps ensuring the right care is given and can be afforded.
What is Long Term Care Insurance?
So what exactly is long term care insurance?
A long term care insurance policy is the policy that can cover the care needed, either provided in-home or at specialized facilities. These include assisted living, nursing homes, memory loss centers, or even adult day care.
In the state of Oregon, the long term care market is highly regulated by two factors: sales practices and the paying of claims practices. Sales practices refer to the methods implemented to sell policies to those who need them. The claims paying practices are the actual navigation of submitted petitions to the policy-providing insurance companies themselves. These factors have to be considered in order to make a careful and likely solid decision.
Who & for What does Long Term Care Insurance serve?
Long term care insurance serves the seniors in our lives who need additional care, notably once they are impaired and unable to perform 2 of the 6 activities of daily living. This impediment can arise from a few different situations, including the cases of chronic medical conditions, disability, or disorder including cognitive impairments.
The case of qualifying for long term care insurance as a younger, disabled individual is highly dependent on a number of factors. The best step in gaining the appropriate clarity needed, is to speak with a specialist.
There are so many questions to consider, and so many resources to tap into.
Visit our Long Term Care Insurance services page to view the proposed list of questions and to learn more
Request a quote online
or give us a call to review your policy, get new presentation options, or discuss available discounts.
541.482.0831 Ashland
541.857.0679 Medford