Beware Buyers of Long Term Care Insurance

If you have money, and just need to supplement your care if the need for long term care should arise, Long Term Care Insurance might be okay.

But, take a good look. Find out the cost of nursing facitilities; that insurance could put you just out of reach of Medicaid and without enough money to pay for your care.

Most facilities are between 3-6 thousand dollars a month. In order to qualify for Medicaid, you cannot have assests (yes, this would include the insurance money) in excess of $2500.00. At least, that is how it is today. So, unless you have a policy that covers the whole bill, or money aside to spare, you may actually be better off not buying the insurance.

We all hope we will not need long term care, it is costly, and the state will take all the assests you have in excess of $2500.00 to pay for the care. Currently, you will be allowed $56.00/month for personal expenses. (like having a haircut, buying clothing, etc).

I do think that taxpayers should invest in healthcare. I believe in Universal Healthcare. This is too costly a need for most individuals, no matter how careful they may be, to carry. One major illness can bankrupt all but the wealthy in short order. And, if you have insurance through work, remember that it stops when the paycheck does.

These days, also, retiring with a generous Health Care Benefit package is no guarantee. Retiremant funds may run out of money. The 401K is subject to market fluctuations, your savings are insured up to $100,000.00. At todays prices, a couple of years,maybe, at an inexpensive place.  Houses, long thought to be a good investment may,or may not,be worth enough when you need the money.

In the meantime, we can all do our best to stay healthy. Eat well, exercise, save. This is not the world the WWII generation lived most of their lives in but, fortunately, it is not the world pre-FDR either.

And do ask your health care provider for an itemized bill, check out the real cost.

Although I will soon have insurance again, I recently had to go without for a short time and a run of routine lab tests to go with my routine physical exam (I am healthy, so far.) cost $600.00. The exam itself, with a deduction was about $150.00. Lucky me, I could afford the luxury of paying my own way.