How Long Term Care Affects Women

How Long Term Care affects Women

Long-term care is an issue directly concerning many women-and therefore directly affecting their employers. More than 75% of unpaid care-givers in the U.S. are women. In addition, women represent 75% of residents in assisted living communities and 80% of Nursing home residents. This makes it clear that the need for extended care affects women greatly.

It has been said that long-term care needs hit women twice; first in providing care to parents or other loved ones, and then later in life when women need long term care for themselves. Informal care-giving responsibilities fall more heavily on women, many of whom are older women with health problems of their own. 

Care-giving responsibilities come with economic costs. Among working caregivers who had to make a work adjustment due to care-giving responsibilities, one study estimates an average of $659,000 in lost wages, lost social security, and pension contributions over a lifetime.

However, the cost is not solely economic. 44% of female caregivers report high levels of physical strain and emotional stress as a result of care-giving. 

It is important for women to plan for changes in their health over time, not only as a care-taker but in the event that their health changes and they need assistance to take care of themselves.   For more information about the options available to plan for this coverage, contact Lucy Grosz at 614-88-0934.

Does Medicare or Medicaid pay for Long Term Care?

Many people confuse Medicare with Medicaid and assume they will be covered for long term care by Medicare.  Medicare, which is the Federal program, only pays for skilled care when there is a diagnosis that you will get better.  It typically occurs after a hospital stays and is limited to a maximum of 100 days.

Most long term care is custodial care, not skilled care and occurs for months and even years.  In a recent poll, 34% of the people surveyed thought Medicare would pay for ongoing nursing home care and 36% for ongoing home care. If people understood that Medicare isn’t going to pay for their long term care and they were going to end up paying for it themselves until they spent most of their life savings and qualified for Medicaid, many of them would be willing to purchase long term care insurance.Alta Vista Benefits

Long Term Care Awareness Month

When you are in your prime, it may be hard to imagine a time when you are unable to perform some of the basic tasks associated with independent living.  But, the reality is that it can and does happen. The facts speak for themselves:

1    1) We are living longer and the longer people live, the greater the chance that the will need help due to accidents or chronic conditions. 

2    2)   You may not need care, but a loved one will.  About 11 million Americans of all ages require extended care and most stay at home to receive care.

3     3)  Couples who care for each other plan.  It is well known that caregivers often end up needing care themselves. Why not let someone else do that so you can stay healthy?

November is Long Term Care awareness month, so this is a reminder about the inportance of this coverage. There are numerous options available, even ones that focus solely on care in the home.  You can hear about this coverage from Kiplinger by pressing here. Contact us today to learn more.

Why plan for long term care?

No one wants to think about needing long term care – but it IS a possibility.  Look across the table at your husband or wife.  Do you realize that one of  you will probably need long term care and the other one will do the caring?  What will be the consequences to them? Did you also know that no health insurance, not even Medicare, covers long term care services?

We specialize in long term planning and have been helping clients since 2008.  If you want to be sure to get the care you prefer, it is so important to do the planning before the care is needed. Doesn't it make sense since this is not covered by health insurance?

Long term care planning is about more than just finances.  It is about making sure that you or your spouse is taken care of when they can no longer take care of themselves. This can happen at any age due to an accident or illness, or be part of the aging process. Once you have a written plan, you have the peace of mind that your future care is well thought out and you have funded your plan.  Without this, the expense of care can have devastating emotional consequences to your family and can easily wipe out your retirement savings. 

Call 614-889-0934 today to learn more.

Alta Vista Benefits has a new site

This blog has moved to www.altavistaltc.com. The new web site has an additional blog, along with helpful articles about long term care insurance and what to consider when making a decision.

The Affordable Care Act

One of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act acknowledged the need for Long Term Care coverage. The CLASS act as it was called was taken out of the legislation early on, mostly because the way the law was written, the program was not sustainable.

The mere fact that the Federal Government attempted to address the problem shows that even our legislators know that this type of care is needed now and the need will continue to grow. The type of care is custodial or non-medical, so traditional health insurance and insurance in the new marketplace will not cover this.  It includes help with bathing, dressing, toileting, continence and transferring (getting from place to place on your own).  Anyone at any age can need this care because of an accident or illness. What is your plan to pay for it?

If you would like to know more about putting a plan in place for extended care, contact lucy@altavistaben,com.