Long-Term Care Insurance

from Fox Insurance Agency

People in our society are living well into their 80s and 90s. As we continue to live longer it is important to plan for the long-term care that will be necessary to live well. Whether long-term care is needed for mental illness, physical illness, injury or just the results of old age, it is often necessary to be able to live a safe and healthy life. Long-term care insurance was created to help curb the financial burden of expensive long-term care for yourself and for your loved ones. Long-term care is not only utilized by the elderly, but younger people may utilize this service as a result of illness or accident. As you continue to age, the chance that you will need long-term health care increases dramatically.

Long-term care can be expensive, and long-term care insurance will help to minimize this cost. Usually, health insurance, disability insurance, Medicare and Medicaid will not cover the costs that long-term care insurance will cover. Often times, those with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease is required. When a person can no longer preform the essential activities of daily living, such as:

• Bathing
• Dressing
• Eating
• Toileting
• Incontinence
• Transferring

These long-term care services can be provided in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, an adult day care center and even in a person's own home.

Why You Need Insurance

Caring for the frailties of old age is getting more and more expensive, especially as we begin to live longer. A recent study, published by Boston College, found that one-third of seniors turning 65 will need at least three months of nursing home care at some point.

Consider the following:

• Although the price varies by state, in Oregon a private room in a nursing home cost $84,000 a year in 2010. These statistic was published by Genworth Financial Inc., the state's largest long-term care insurer.
• By 2040, when many people in their 50’s today may need to file a long-term care claim, the average annual nursing home cost could average $360,000.
• A private room in an assisted living center typically costs about half the rate of a private room in a nursing home, but it’s been growing at a 9 percent annual rate, At that rate, Genworth said in 30 years that translates to approximately $340,000 per year.

Help Protect Your Family and Your Lifestyle

The life expectancy of our population is increasing as lifestyles and medical advances continue to progress. With a growing number of people finding themselves unable to live independently, nursing homes and health care centers are continuing to become more expensive. As medical costs rise, people purchase long-term care insurance:

• To avoid depending on family or friends
• To maintain options regarding how and where they receive care
• To preserve future independence
• To avoid using retirement savings or liquidating personal assets to pay for long-term care services

Fox Insurance has been providing customers with advice for their long-term care insurance for many years. Residents of Portland, Beaverton and Wilsonville as well as cities across the states of Oregon and Washington have benefitted from the knowledgeable staff of Fox Insurance.

Contact Fox Insurance to learn more about long-term care insurance.