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Old 11-23-2010, 04:12 PM
 
Location: Florida -
10,213 posts, read 14,771,078 times
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My wife and I bought LTC insurance from John Hancock in 2008 at ages 65/61; good health. We have a joint, 6-year policy (either/both) at $150 per day with a CPIU growth increase. For both of our policies we pay $4200 per year or about $330/$170 ea. per month.

I did a great deal of shopping and analysis and determined that LTC insurance definitely makes sense, given the statistical probability that one or both of us will likely need it and the rising cost of healthcare. This joint policy also seems like a reasonable approach, given the flexibility (home care or assisted/nursing care), rising health care costs and the statistical length of time people actually live after moving into a nursing home. The CPIU index should also keep track with inflation. - Hope this helps!
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Old 11-23-2010, 04:19 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,143,404 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissNM View Post
A family member paid on an AARP policy for 20 years - $110 a month. They will pay ~$3000 a month for 4 years and then it expires. For us, a proetty good deal.

However, so many conditions had to be met to actually use the policy (regarding her condition and also the facility). Read your policy carefully.
I have read my plan carefully, you have to qualify for 2 ADL's, determined by my own dr. The facility doesn't matter at all-and quite frankly I hope I don't need a "facility" which is why I got the policy in the first place. Personally, I wouldn't buy a policy from AARP-they are not an insurance company and they don't have the financial backing of other insurance products to back up their long term care polices. Their financial rating isn't very high either. Policies have changed, a LOT in the past 20 years and yes, policies from 20 years ago are NOT very good.
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Old 11-23-2010, 10:16 PM
 
Location: Floribama
18,940 posts, read 43,341,866 times
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I'm only 31 and I'm thinking about looking getting LTCI. I don't have any kids and likely never will, and I don't want to depend on my niece and nephews to take care of me, they will be busy enough looking after my sister. My grandmother is in the hospital right now and Medicare will only pay for her to stay there for 21 days. It's going to be really tough for my Mom and my aunts to try to take care of her 24/7.
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Old 11-24-2010, 11:24 AM
 
2,888 posts, read 6,516,375 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
The facility doesn't matter at all-and quite frankly I hope I don't need a "facility" which is why I got the policy in the first place.
My mom is in a large house with qualified staff, including a nurse 24/7. She has a bedroom and bathroom suite. They provide homemade meals, activities, and entertainment. It's not really a "facility" - it's more like a co-ed senior sorority house with a whole lot of benefits.

She has early dementia and cannot live at her home. She needs 24 supervision as she has night time wanderings. My husband would love to have her live with us, but she doesn't want to leave her home state. She seems to think she is at a bed and breakfast and gets more visitors than she did at her home.

When I hit my mid-60s, I'll start looking for a policy that will enable me to stay in a place like this. I suspect I will deal with dementia myself, so I need to get a policy in order before it hits.
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Old 11-28-2010, 05:45 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,618,592 times
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I think we have joint policy like the one mentioned before with John Hancock or GE--not sure but each of us pay about 4K a year and we bought at 58 or 59--my husband has long history of managed high blood pressure and state 2 diabetes so he did have a rating concern but because his history showed it was well-controlled he did not get dinged as badly as we thought...
we had no smoking history and no flags for issues like dementia--our folks died from cancer or heart problems in their 80s or 90s--my mom was in nursing home for years because she had emphasymia but she smoked since she was 16
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Old 12-01-2010, 12:28 PM
 
Location: On the Beach
4,139 posts, read 4,507,260 times
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I bought my policy at age 50 from John Hancock. I did quite a bit of shopping around prior to making a decision. Rates vary depending on the level of care you wish to purchase, the timeframe (how many years you want your coverage to cover), and your age and health at the time you purchase your coverage. I pay $1500.00 annually for 3 years of coverage that includes inflation adjusted in home care (i.e.-nurses aide) coverage of $185.00 daily and 3 years nursning home care. There is no guarantee the rates won't increase over time although there is a cap. I don't have kids and even if I did, I wouldn't want or expect them to care for me if I am unable to care for myself. It's a huge burden both emotionally and financially to place on kids and most older folks I deal with don't want to live with or be taken care of by their children. I consider it a necessity. People are living longer, Medicare cuts are inevitable, and you need to prepare.
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Old 12-03-2010, 07:17 PM
 
31,672 posts, read 40,937,970 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
You have to qualify for LTC insurance so getting it younger is a great idea. We have it already and we are in our mid 40's because my mom, if she had had it would have filed a claim at age 45. Over time we will actually pay a little less in premiums vs having waited to our 60's-and then the chances of qualifying are less than 50%. Our premiums are $60/month for $160/day in coverage-which is average in our area. We have a lifetime benefit, meaning your coverage never stops. It has 100% in-home care (which is what we really want) and 100% nursing home care-the two most important features of the policy.

The issue we found when shopping around was that a lot of companies have either had HUGE rate increases lately or have gotten out of the LTC maket altogether. We have our policies through Northwestern Mutual and are very happy so far.
Have you found large group coverage to be the best way to go if possible? Ours tried to increase premiums a couple of years ago and got it big time from the national professional organization and canceled the rate increases.
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:07 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,143,404 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
Have you found large group coverage to be the best way to go if possible? Ours tried to increase premiums a couple of years ago and got it big time from the national professional organization and canceled the rate increases.
Do you mean you got it from the American Bar Association or something like that? If so, it really depends on the policy. Most company plans I have seen haven't been all that great-ok but not great. Most are pretty limited in coverage and have higher premiums vs what you can buy privately. I would also investigate WHO is underwriting the programs. So many companies have backed out of the LTC market it's almost scary.
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