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Long-Term
Care is a Woman’s Issue
By Candace
Bahr, CEA, CDS and Ginita
Wall,
CPA, CFP®
 Women!
Hear us! We know you don’t
need anything else to worry about,
what with working, caring for
children, and being the only
one who replaces the toilet paper
roll when it’s empty. But
there is a crisis in long-term
care coming to America that will
affect you and your family profoundly.
According to US Census projections,
by 2030, one in five Americans
will be a senior citizen. By
2010—which is just around
the corner—almost half
of the US workforce, mostly those
in their forties and fifties,
will be caring for an elderly
parent. And it isn’t just
the elderly who need care. A
third of the people who have
a stroke every year are under
age 65, and 40 percent of the
people who need long-term care
are aged 18 to 65.
But won’t the
government look out for us
if we need care?
Not
really. Medicare does not cover
long-term care for most medical
situations. You might get a
few weeks of skilled care at
your home, or in a nursing
home. After that, you’re
on your own.
And Medicaid, originally intended
for the destitute elderly, is
a means-tested welfare program
for the very poor, which requires
that you spend or give away all
of your assets before you qualify
for benefits. Artificially depleting
assets to qualify, by hiding
money in exempt assets, transferring
assets to children or other relatives,
or, in extreme cases, getting
a divorce, doesn’t work
either. Medicaid no longer turns
a blind eye to many questionable
asset-shuffling schemes.
If you are wealthy, you will
have enough money to purchase
the private care you need. But
the vast majority, regular middle-class
America, is severely underinsured—which
is a nice way of saying that
we are all heading for big trouble.
Why is that a woman’s
issue?
Women, especially,
bear the brunt of these care
costs. Because women live longer
than men, they require lengthier
care as they age, and because
women often assume responsibility
for their family’s health
and welfare, the task of caring
for elderly parents, an ill
spouse, or disabled brothers
and sisters usually falls to
us. With long-term care insurance,
you can get the assistance
you need and your loved ones
deserve.
When deciding on long-term
care insurance, consider all
of your options.
Long-term
care covers a broad spectrum
of products and services, including
home health care, hospice care,
medical equipment, and home-delivered
meals.
Also consider your finances.
Many people who believe that
they can self-insure for the
risk are not taking into account
the risk of disability in the
early part of their lives. An
early disability can wipe out
even a considerable fortune,
and with the cost of care growing
exponentially, even a disability
when you are older could cost
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It’s time to talk
about the problem.
Talk
to your employer -- the
number of employers offering
long-term care insurance is
growing at an average annual
rate of 30 percent. Talk to
your family -- have a real
conversation with your parents
about their future, and discuss
your own long-term care options
with your adult children.
Review your situation with a
financial planner or insurance
agent familiar with long-term
care planning, to learn about
the latest products of the rapidly
changing long-term care insurance
industry. Remember that planning
for long-term medical care is
just another part of a continuous
lifelong financial plan.
Long-term care planning is an
issue for everyone. Counting
on artificially impoverishing
yourself in order to use the
government safety net for the
poor is not a good long-term
strategy.
Do You Need Long Term
Care Insurance?
Ask
yourself these three questions
to see if long-term care insurance
is for you.
- How
old are you?
Generally,
the best age to apply for long-term
care insurance is between 50
and 65 years old.
- What
is your net worth?
If your net worth is between
$75,000 and $3 million, long-term
care insurance can help protect
your estate. If your net worth
is below $75,000, Medicaid
(government assistance) will
pay for your care as soon as
your assets are depleted. If
your net worth is over $3 million,
it might be cheaper just to
pay for the care yourself.
- Do
you have a family history
of chronic memory loss, liver
cirrhosis, muscular dystrophy,
Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's
Disease, senility or dementia,
or multiple strokes?
If these
diseases run in your family,
chances are greater than average
that you will need long-term
care at some point. But if
you already have any of the
above symptoms or diagnoses,
you may not qualify for long-term
care insurance.
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