So who has long term care insurance? I see health / long term care insurance as the signal most source of any increase in spending. Hopefully it will be a wash after I eliminate the mortgage.

 

So who has long term care insurance? I see health / long term care insurance as the signal most source of any increase in spending.

My financial advisor recommended that we get it for my Wife (she's 10 years younger than me). We opted not to because it was relatively expensive.

 

For her but not you? Why not you also?

 

So who has long term care insurance? I see health / long term care insurance as the signal most source of any increase in spending. Hopefully it will be a wash after I eliminate the mortgage.

LTC is a nightmare IMO. What I like to do about these kinds of matters is to research the issue, make an evidenced-based decision and then only revisit it periodically (like once a year or as needed). Otherwise you can get overcome by thinking and worrying and so on and so forth.

My opinion and only my opinion and I have absolutely NO recommendations for anyone - is that it is very frustrating. Everybody fears needing extensive LTC. Those that sell it, know that, and they exploit the fear for all that they can.

The price of the outright insurance can be extremely high. I have used their calculators to try to determine costs.

I have looked at at other instruments, like a special annuity. For example, say 100K. They take the interest (or more). You can get 300K of LTC for your 100K. If you never need LTC, the 100K (assuming they are only charging the interest) goes to your heirs. Sounds like a good deal - eh? Look carefully. Your 100K is used first, then their 200K. You can use only 50K a year. If your original 100K is used up, nothing goes to heirs (as you might expect). So now it comes down to the probability of A) needing LTC at all and B) How long you need it if you do need it. I found it *very* difficult to get any recent data on that. Just quotes from several years ago. The data exist and no doubt they are using it, but good luck getting it.

One last thing - to qualify, you need to take a short questionnaire. No doubt aimed at figuring out your probabilities. Then, you have to listen to them forever as they bug you about one thing or another.

One approach (or cop-out, if you prefer) is to self-insure. IOW, you save a hunk of $$$ for LTC. Of course if you live into it then it goes. Then you have the spend down and medicaid is left.

 

For her but not you? Why not you also?

My Wife is 10 years younger than me. In theory, she'd be able to provide elder care for me. She's already been doing it for 10 years for her Mother who lives on our property.

My Wife will have two children to help care for her.

If things get too bad, there's always doctor assisted suicide. She knows how I'd feel about being an invalid.

 

My Wife is 10 years younger than me. In theory, she'd be able to provide elder care for me. She's already been doing it for 10 years for her Mother who lives on our property.

My Wife will have two children to help care for her.

If things get too bad, there's always doctor assisted suicide. She knows how I'd feel about being an invalid.

Ah makes a lot of sense now that you mention it. I have no one at all which scares me. My mom is 93. Fairly dependent but she has me to do things like store runs etc.

I try to stay in shape so I can take care of myself when I get old. I hope the self driving car is on line by the time I reach an age where I can't drive anymore. That is the one invention that will likely be the biggest benefit to those that are elderly or have a disability that prevents them from driving.

My biggest worry is dementia. Thank goodness there is none in my family history. Both my mom and dad are / were sharp as tacks. My dad passed at 96.

 

Ah makes a lot of sense now that you mention it. I have no one at all which scares me. My mom is 93. Fairly dependent but she has me to do things like store runs etc.

With the aged population increasing, home services are likely to improve. Grocery delivery, in home medical care. Medicare covers a small amount now, but that should go up because nursing homes are so expensive. I think Medicare might even cover a portion of nursing home expenses (don't know, have to check). But I'm pretty certain you need to be poor.

Answering your previous post made me do a search for how doctor assisted suicide affects life insurance policies (I have a universal life policy that I intend to keep in force until I die). There's a law that forces insurance companies to pay out in that case, even if the policy went into effect within the contestability period (normally within 2 years of purchasing). Suicide won't affect life insurance policies after the contestability period.

 

With the aged population increasing, home services are likely to improve. Grocery delivery, in home medical care. Medicare covers a small amount now, but that should go up because nursing homes are so expensive. I think Medicare might even cover a portion of nursing home expenses (don't know, have to check). But I'm pretty certain you need to be poor.

Answering your previous post made me do a search for how doctor assisted suicide affects life insurance policies (I have a universal life policy that I intend to keep in force until I die). There's a law that forces insurance companies to pay out in that case, even if the policy went into effect within the contestability period (normally within 2 years of purchasing). Suicide won't affect life insurance policies after the contestability period.

Do you line in Oregon? As I recall doctor assisted sucide is legal?

 

Do you line in Oregon? As I recall doctor assisted sucide is legal?

Doctor assisted suicide is legal in my state.

 

Medicare will pay for 100 days in a nursing home. If you are then out for some period, I think a year, you get another 100 days.

My father in law had LTC, and he needed home care for 9 years. It ran out in his last year, but it saved him hundreds of thousands in the end, which my wife then inherited.

We looked into LTC. I was ineligible due to a preexisting condition that had self limited and was not going to cause disability, so, go figure. My version of LTC is about 15 hours of exercise a week, including weight training. I am stronger and healthier now than I was at 50.

Bob

 

Medicare will pay for 100 days in a nursing home. If you are then out for some period, I think a year, you get another 100 days.

/--/

Bob

Yes and no. Medicare pays 100% of the first 20 days and for the next 80, you have a $164.50 (2017) per day co-pay - according to https://longtermcare.acl.gov/medicare-medicaid-more/medicare.html

According to here https://www.medicareinteractive.org...-facility-snf-services/snf-care-past-100-days if you are out for 60 days, you can do another cycle.

 

That copay must be paid by the supplemental insurance then, because he was in for several months and we never paid a penny.

Bob