 |
|
|
If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact Carol Hunsaker
at Preferred Benefits
(chunsaker@q.com)
or call 303-399-7655.
| |
|
|
|
|
How much does long-term care insurance cost?
How do you choose an insurance company for long-term care insurance?
What are the chances that I will need long-term care?
What types of services are covered by a long-term care insurance policy?
What is the best age to buy long-term care insurance?
How do I qualify for long-term care insurance?
Won't Medicare or my health insurance pay for long-term care?
What is a "tax-qualified" long-term care policy?
What are some of the tax incentives for purchasing qualified long-term care insurance?
Will the government pay for my care if I can't afford it?
Can an employer offer long-term care insurance as an employee benefit?
What is the average nursing-home stay?
Do I still pay premiums if I am ill and receiving benefits from my policy?
Are women more likely to need long-term care?
Why do I still need long-term care insurance if I have enough assets to pay for my own care?
Why would I consider long-term care insurance if I don't have any assets?
|
How much does long-term care insurance cost? |
|
The younger and healthier you are, the lower your premium. Discounts are available for couples. Depending on your age and coverage, premiums can range from $1000 - $5,000 per year, but could be more if you live in a high-cost state like New York.
Many people mistakenly believe that they will save money on premiums by waiting to purchase a policy when they are older and more likely to need care. This is not true! The older you are when you purchase your policy means that you will pay more in total premiums because:
1. Your premiums will be based on your older age.
2. You will have to buy a higher benefit because the cost of care will have increased.
3. You may have a health condition at the older age and have to pay even more, or, worse yet, you may have become uninsurable due to a medical condition.
"Regardless of your age at the time of purchase, the total cost for the long-term care policy will be less than the cost of one year in a nursing home", writes famous financial author Suze Orman in her book, "You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire".
|
|  |
|
How do you choose an insurance company for long-term care insurance? |
|
Because "one size fits all" does not apply to long-term care insurance, we represent only highly-rated carriers so your plan can be tailored to fit your needs:
Allianz
Genworth
John Hancock
MetLife
Prudential
Physicians Mutual
Mutual of Omaha
MedAmerica
Unum
|
| |
|
What are the chances that I will need long-term care? |
|
The following statistics and projections indicate the need for long-term care:
The odds for needing LTC are greater than 50%.
"Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance? 1994-1995 Profiles and Innovations in a Dynamic Market", Health Insurance Association of America/LifePlans, Inc., p2 (Confirmed by LifePlans, Inc., 1/02)
40% of those needing long-term care are working age adults between the ages of 18 and 64.
O'Shaughnessy, Carol, Congressional Research Service, testimony to Senate Aging Committee, 6/26/01
|
| |
|
What types of services are covered by a long-term care insurance policy? |
|
Plans can be tailored to include all or a portion of the following benefits:
Home Health Care - skilled full and part-time nursing and other professional services in your home.
Adult Day Care - A licensed day program designed to keep the elderly out of more expensive alternatives such as nursing facilities. They provide various levels of assistance with activities of daily living, along with social and therapeutic services in an environment structured to meet individual needs.
Home Care - Assistance in your home with activities of daily living, plus help with shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping, telephoning, and laundry.
Homemaker Services - Help with the kinds of of activities that allow you to be able to remain at home.
Assisted Living Facilities - Residential care for those in need of custodial personal care. It provides 24-hour care in a setting that looks like independent living, and is the fastest growing form of care.
Respite Care - Care that is short-term in nature and designed to relieve a caregiver in a nursing facility, at home, or in a community facility.
Skilled Nursing Facilities - A licensed facility providing both skilled and custodial care. A person needing rehabilitation after a stroke or hip replacement would require skilled care. Someone needing assistance with the activities of daily living due to an accident or illness, or just the aging process would receive custodial, or non-skilled care. This is the most common type of care.
Hospice Care - Services in your home or in a nursing facility providing social and spiritual support for the patient and family when a terminal illness has been diagnosed.
|
| |
|
What is the best age to buy long-term care insurance? |
|
40% of people needing long-term care are working-age adults between 18 and 64! The typical LTC insurance buyer is 58, but the average age in the workplace is much less. Every year you wait to buy means a higher premium and the chance that you may not qualify due to a medical condition. Age 50 is usually the age when people start to get serious about their retirement planning.
|
| |
|
How do I qualify for long-term care insurance? |
|
Most insurance companies will request your medical records. If you have conditions that have been kept under control by medication, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you can usually qualify. Even if you have had bypass surgery heart attack/stroke, diabetes, or cancer, you may still qualify if your condition has been stable for a certain period of time. However, if you have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, or need help dressing/eating/transferring, you cannot get a policy. If you're not sure about your health, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by applying because you may qualify.
|
| |
|
Won't Medicare or my health insurance pay for long-term care? |
|
No. Individual and group health insurance policies, HMO's, Medicare, and Medicare Supplement Policies do not pay for custodial care, and most long-term care is custodial. Medicare only pays for skilled care after a hospital stay and the average payment is only 23 days.
|
| |
|
What is a "tax-qualified" long-term care policy? |
|
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 and designated two types of long-term care insurance policies. Tax-Qualified policies must meet certain HIPAA standards in order to be eligible for certain tax deductions.
Non-Qualified policies are not required to meet HIPAA standards and, therefore, are not eligible for tax deductions.
Please call us for more information to determine which policy will meet your needs.
|
| |
|
What are some of the tax incentives for purchasing qualified long-term care insurance? |
|
Individuals can deduct the annual premium paid for qualified long-term care (LTC) insurance as a medical expense, subject to these age limits for 2008:
Individuals
$310 for ages under 40
$580 for ages 41-50
$1,150 for ages 51-60
$3,080 for ages 61-70
$3,850 for ages 71 and older
Medical expenses, including the LTC premiums, are deductible as itemized deductions subject to the 7.5% threshold of adjusted gross income.
Benefits received under a qualified LTC policy to reimburse for actual expenses are generally excluded from an individual's income. However, if benefits are made on a per diem basis, the amount that is excluded for 2008 is limited to $270 per day. Consult your tax advisor.
Self-Employed
Eligible tax-qualified LTC insurance premium are treated as medical insurance premiums up to the same limits as for individual taxpayers. A self-employed individual can deduct a percentage of the annual premium paid for qualified LTC insurance, subject to the age-based limits. Self-employed means sole proprietorships, partnerships, "greater than 2% shareholders" of S-Corporations or Limited Liability Corporations. 100% of annual premiums (based on the age-based table above) are deductible as a medical expense.
Consult your tax advisor.
C-Corporations
Annual premiums for qualified LTC insurance are fully deductible by an employer as a business expense. There is no age-based limit on the amount of deductible premiums, and premiums can be deducted by the employer for the employee, spouse or dependents.
These are interpretations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Please consult your tax advisor for alternative interpretations which may be more liberal.
|
| |
|
Will the government pay for my care if I can't afford it? |
|
Medicaid (welfare) was designed to pay long-term care costs for the poor. It will only pay nursing home care after all your assets are gone. Medicaid is not a good option for people who want to keep their independence and choice about the kind of care they will have and where that care will be provided. Medicaid pays very little for home health care, and nothing for assisted living so nursing home care is the only option. Recent legislation makes it difficult to "give" your assets away to qualify for Medicaid. States can now place a lien on any of your personal property, including your home, to recoup costs paid on your behalf by Medicaid. The message from our government is clear: You are responsible for your own long-term care costs.
|
| |
|
Can an employer offer long-term care insurance as an employee benefit? |
|
Yes. Long-term care insurance can be offered as a benefit to employees and association members. Employers can "carve out" certain classes of employees to be covered such as Owners, Officers or Managers. Premiums may be employer-paid, employee-paid (voluntary) or a combination of both. Coverage may also be extended to immediate family members, i.e., spouses, children, parents, and grandparents of the employees even if they live in a different state. Certain participation quidelines apply, and discounts may also be available. Preferred Benefits works closely with the group health insurance market to assess the need for LTC as a voluntary health benefit.
|
| |
|
What is the average nursing-home stay? |
|
The average is about 2.5 years, but 15% of the patients in the last major survey stayed longer than 5 years. The average caregiving time at home is 4.5 years, and one in four caregivers report providing care longer than five years. the average caregiving time for Alzheimer's is 8 years, according to the Alzheimer's Association in 2007.
|
| |
|
Do I still pay premiums if I am ill and receiving benefits from my policy? |
|
Many LTC policies allow you to stop paying premiums when you begin receiving benefits. Some policies will waive your premium when you need home care, assisted living or adult day care, and when you are in a nursing home.
|
| |
|
Are women more likely to need long-term care? |
|
YES! Women live longer than men - usually about 8 years. Women also have more chronic diseases that hamper mobility such as osteoporosis and arthritis.
|
| |
|
Why do I still need long-term care insurance if I have enough assets to pay for my own care? |
|
Some financial planners recommend LTC coverage for anyone with less than $5,000,000, not counting the house and car. An important question is, "how much of your asset base is liquid?" Otherwise, you may have to sell investments or property at less than what they are worth when long-term care is needed. The stress of having to locate and provide care for a loved one affects the entire family, regardless of wealth. LTC insurance can provide peace of mind and helpful direction when care is needed.
|
| |
|
Why would I consider long-term care insurance if I don't have any assets? |
|
Long-term care insurance is NOT for everyone. Normally, people with assets greater than $50,000, not counting the house and car, purchase LTC insurance. However, some people with fewer assets and income also buy it (or their children buy it for them) because they want the same choices as private-pay patients.
|
| |
Request your free quote now...
| |
|
