John never felt comfortable talking about financial or health matters with his father. He assumed that his father, a widower, had insurance or savings that would pay for any long-term care he would need as he aged. But after his father fell and broke his hip, John discovered that his father did not have insurance to pay for in-home long-term care or a nursing home, AND that he would have to spend nearly all of his existing savings and financial assets to pay for care until he could qualify for Medicaid. Sadly John watched as his father’s health deteriorated and his father’s savings were drained.

Once a person begins receiving long-term care they will generally need to continue using services for between three and five years. However, people with Alzheimer’s disease typically require long-term care for a much longer period of time.

Who pays for long-term care? Most Americans don’t realize that:

• Medicare and Medigap cover very few long-term care costs;
• private health and disability insurance does not pay for long-term care services; and
• you have to meet financial eligibility criteria (meaning you have to have limited assets and qualify as “low-income” or, as John’s father had to do, “spend down” to deplete most of your savings and financial assets) to qualify for Medicaid assistance for long-term care. Medicaid primarily subsidizes nursing home care.

In other words, unless you are poor, it is very likely that you will ultimately be responsible for paying for your own long-term care. That can be a sobering thought when you realize that…

• the average nursing home costs between $50,000 - $75,000 per year;
• the average yearly cost to live at an assisted living facility is nearly $30,000; and
• part-time in-home care by non-medical professionals costs, on average, more than $20,000 yearly.

When you are unable to physically care for yourself, long-term care insurance helps you pay for extended around-the-clock or occasional care by a home health aide or licensed nursing professional either in-home or at an assisted living facility, senior care center or live-in nursing home. The type of care includes medical, social, personal care and supportive services such as assistance with:

• bathing and dressing
• basic housekeeping
• meal preparation
• transportation to doctors’ appointments and errands
• laundry
• and more

While most people won’t need long-term care insurance until they are in their 70s or 80s, any policyholder, regardless of age, can use their insurance to help with long-term care costs due to illness, injury or age-related difficulties.

Long-term care insurance protects your assets by providing you with money to help pay for care instead of having to pay 100% of the costs out-of-pocket. These articles are designed to help answer your questions about long-term care insurance.