For more than 50 years, Pepper, Johnstone & Company has been trusted with insuring families and businesses. We partner with 60+ insurance companies so that you can consider options that provide the most appropriate protection.
Long Term Care Insurance
from Pepper, Johnstone & Company
Long-term care insurance (LTC or LTCI) is a type of insurance designed specifically to cover the costs of long-term care services, most of which are not covered by traditional health insurance, disability insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Long-term care is needed when supervision is required due to a severe cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease or when a person can no longer perform essential Activities of Daily Living (ADL):
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Eating
- Toileting
- Incontinence
- Transferring - help moving from a bed, chair or vehicle
Long-term care insurance provides coverage to pay for services provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, and in the comfort of your own home. There is considerable flexibility and numerous coverage options that allow you to select a range of benefits so you can obtain the services you need in the settings that suit you best. The cost of long-term care insurance is based on the type of services you choose to have covered, the benefit amount, the benefit period, your age at the time of purchase, and any optional benefits you select such as inflation protection. If you are in poor health or are already receiving long-term care services, you may not qualify for long-term care insurance or may only be able to purchase a limited amount of coverage.
Why You Need Protection
Most of us understand the importance of insurance, which is why we pay premiums to ensure that our car, home and personal belongings will be repaired or replaced when damaged. Given this, it should also make sense then to make a similar commitment to our own well-being by purchasing long-term care insurance; however, many of us feel that long-term care insurance is just for the elderly. This mindset no longer holds true and can prove to be very costly for you and your family. Sporting accidents, disabling events such as spinal cord injuries or strokes, and debilitating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s and Parkinson’s can happen at any age to anyone. Consider the following:
- Nearly 40% of people requiring long-term care services are working age adults.1
- There is over a 70% chance that Americans age 65 and older will require some form of long-term care services.2
- The average annual cost of a nursing home stay is $77,745 annually3 and 10% of residents will stay 5 years or longer.4
- The average nursing home/nursing facility stay is 2.4 years.5
Why You Can’t Count on Medicare or Medicaid
While most Americans age 65 and older are eligible for Medicare, coverage for long-term care services are limited. Medicare wasn’t created to properly pay for assisted living, adult day care, nursing home care or care at home. This is why Medicare requires a minimum 3-day hospitalization before paying any long-term care costs. Typically, it only pays the costs for the first 20 days of each benefit period in a skilled nursing home and only a portion of the costs for days 21 – 100. As helpful as some government programs may be, they do not provide the adequate coverage or the freedom of choice provided by long-term care insurance. Choices that you or someone you love, may want.
Help Protect Your Lifestyle and Your Family
Spending a long time in a nursing home or under home care is not something we like to think about; nevertheless, as medical science increases the average life expectancy, a growing number of Americans are finding themselves unable to live independently. At the same time, nursing home and home health care is becoming extremely expensive, primarily due to rising medical costs. Knowing this, people purchase long-term care insurance:
- To help 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
Get the protection you need, today and tomorrow
To learn more about our Long-term Care (LTC) insurance products, speak with one of our experienced professionals today.
(1) Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project, “Who Needs Long-Term Care?” 2003.
(2) American Society of Aging, “Americans Fail to Act on Long Term Care Protection.” 2003.
(3) MetLife Mature Market Institute. “the MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs.” 2007.
(4) America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) “Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance.” 2002.
(5) National Center for Health Statistics, “The National Nursing Home Survey.” 2002.
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