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I'm also evaluating our current Long Term Health Insurance Plan. I am 57 and my husband is 62. He will be taking early retirement with Social Security starting this May. We bought this LTC plan offered by his company ten years ago in 2008---can't believe how time flies!
Our Benefit Levels on the Option 2 chart include for each of us: Daily Facility Care Benefit ($200), Weekly Home Based Care Benefit ($1050), Lifetime Maximum Benefit ($365,000), Caregiver Benefit ($3,000), Caregiver Training Benefit ($450), Home Medical Technology Benefit ($1,000).
Waiting Period is a 90 calendar day waiting period before benefits are paid. We must only satisfy this waiting period once in our lifetime. We do not need to incur any paid services during this time. Inflation Protection offered to keep up with inflation based on age and equal to a compound 5% rate of increase.
The Standard Plan Features. Daily Care includes Nursing Home, Assisted Living and Hospice Facility. Weekly Home Based Care includes your own home, Adult Day Care facility and Home Hospice Care.
Other benefits: Caregiver Benefit (cash payment equal to 15 times your Daily Facility Benefit each year when you receive unpaid informal care), Caregiver Training (pays for training required to license or certify and informal caregiver or independent provider), Bed Reservation (pays daily benefit for 60 days per year to hold your Nursing Home bed if you need to be away temporarily), Respite Care (to relieve caretakers of their duties to take needed time off), Alternative Plan of Care (for special devices or other needs in non-standard facilities or services received at home).
World Wide Coverage. I had no idea this kind of coverage existed. If we are living or traveling outside the United States and become eligible to receive benefits, reimbursement will be based on a cash payment equal to 75% of the Daily Facility Care benefit. To receive benefits, a Licensed Health Care Practitioner (as defined by the particular country) must certify that you are chronically ill and have a plan of care. Your benefits will be paid in United States Currency and not local currency.
Now the math on what this Long Term Health Care Plan will cost per year. (Calculator Time!)
Payments are made Quarterly: Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct
For me: $430.60 per quarter = $1722.40 a year
My husband: $342.22 per quarter = $1368.88 a year
Grand Total for both of us: $3091.28 this year
Okay, BIG sticker shock for me! Like most other people here, I want to take the time to figure out cost analysis, risks, benefits. If I cancel this insurance, I won't be able to pass the medical exam today. Or find a more cost affordable policy that offers all these benefits from an insurance plan from ten years ago.
And how to afford the cost for the 90 calendar waiting period out-of-pocket expense?
Another big concern for me is trust in the company to honor their commitments. Will the company still be around when I need the benefits? Will they deny a claim or cancel my insurance for an unjustified cause? Will I have the money to hire an attorney and continue to pay out of pocket until the claim is settled?
I also read my Long Term Care Insurance Company has made the decision to stop accepting new entrants into their LTC Insurance Plan as of February 1, 2016. They say it is a strategic decision which it made in order to focus on resources for currently insured participants. That they are not exiting the LTC business and we can continue to depend on them for high quality customer service and claims handling. As long as I continue to pay my premiums my coverage will continue uninterrupted with the same features and benefits. It will not make any changes to my existing coverage.
Of course, I can always "buy up" coverage and will be notified of any rate changes. So now I wonder what pool of money exists to pay those of us who now have coverage with the company and will be filing claims in the future.
So now I'm looking over the household budget trying to figure out how to make this all work. It's hard facing all those fears about healthcare. How will I afford it? Or pay my own LTC care? Will I go broke?
Yes, there certainly is a lot to think about here. It's not an easy decision at all!
And how to afford the cost for the 90 calendar waiting period out-of-pocket expense?
That's covered by Medicare. Which is why all LTCi policies contain the same standard 90-day waiting period.
BTW, you mentioned that you pay your policy premiums quarterly. I would be willing to bet that you would receive a discount if you paid it annually instead.
I'm also evaluating our current Long Term Health Insurance Plan. I am 57 and my husband is 62. He will be taking early retirement with Social Security starting this May. We bought this LTC plan offered by his company ten years ago in 2008---can't believe how time flies!
Our Benefit Levels on the Option 2 chart include for each of us: Daily Facility Care Benefit ($200), Weekly Home Based Care Benefit ($1050), Lifetime Maximum Benefit ($365,000), Caregiver Benefit ($3,000), Caregiver Training Benefit ($450), Home Medical Technology Benefit ($1,000). ... Inflation Protection offered to keep up with inflation based on age and equal to a compound 5% rate of increase ... World Wide Coverage. ...
Grand Total for both of us: $3091.28 this year
Okay, BIG sticker shock for me! Like most other people here, I want to take the time to figure out cost analysis, risks, benefits. If I cancel this insurance, I won't be able to pass the medical exam today. Or find a more cost affordable policy that offers all these benefits from an insurance plan from ten years ago....
So now I'm looking over the household budget trying to figure out how to make this all work. It's hard facing all those fears about healthcare. How will I afford it? Or pay my own LTC care? Will I go broke?
Yes, there certainly is a lot to think about here. It's not an easy decision at all!
Even though you already know you couldn't find a comparable policy today, maybe just price one out to see how much more it would cost to realize what a great deal you seem to have ... even if you were theoretically the age you were at the time of original purchase.
Not matchable today. Plus, insurance companies have moved to sex-specific rate charts with single females priced about twice that of couples. One actual policy quote (tentative, no actual application) came in around $6000.
That your company is now exiting the LTCi business may well be a plus ... perhaps they might more likely to swallow the costs of losses to avoid the negative publicity? Dunno, but that wouldn't bother me if they otherwise have a strong reputation.
Trying to minimize the impact of a health event on a spouse is a strong motivator to purchase LTCi. In contrast, one of my potential LTCi goals was to "protect" an inheritance.
At the new single female rates, I realized that I would have in effect spent the protected amount (not the total inheritance, but the future value of the policy) by the time I reached the age where statistically I was most likely to need LTC. That probably would not be true for a couple, nor even a single male. Purchase age theoretically shouldn't matter given how the policies are supposed to be priced but I'm not sure?
But even there ... you need to weigh the impact of an earlier event. For me, I already have the 3-yr policy maximum amount available in a secure investments (at about 2 % today, no loss of principle) which will fall a bit short over time compared to a policy with a compound inflation protector of 3%. But then I gain flexibility and, of course, the investment if not needed for care.
Still, for an early-event (where due to younger age, the average time a SNF can be greater than that for an older individual) I need even more protection than I can get from current LTCi. A comprehensive plan that btw does NOT include medicaid-protection ... but for me adding a LTCi leg (which would be theoretically desirable) simply costs too much.
For singles it's tough ... because we don't have the in-home support of a spouse ... we end up using care more frequently ... and so pay more.
we all hate paying for insurance because statistically what we pay for shows a small chance of happening .
just look at the odds of us dying young .
yet we have life insurance at young ages if we have families .
insurers can tell us how many people a year die and that statistic is important to them .
but they can't tell us who , so we can only assume it could be us and we act accordingly .
i don't self-insure because to self insure properly we have to pull a huge chunk of money out of our portfolio.
that portfolio creates our income and it is assumed that balance can go to zero by the 30th year and still have a very high success rate .
so that large chunk has to be isolated , invested very conservatively and not used to create income for us because i can't risk it is half gone and takes 15 years to come back in dollar terms because long term care costs keep rising greater than inflation and don't know from down market years . .
i can keep that money invested , keep it part of the income creation money and just take a piece of the gain and pay a premium for proper coverage . it covers 3 years in a snf or 6 years home care or assisted living . then after the insurance runs out our partnership plan has very nice asset and income protection perks .
it really was a no brainier once we thought about the mechanics of self insuring and not just calling it self insuring in words only . .
We are taking a different approach. Going to buy into a very nice CCRC that has been around for over 60 years and is financially very sound. Will annuitize a large chunk of our retirement assets which will more than cover basic living expenses. When we're ready for the CCRC, the proceeds from our home will be more than enough to pay for the initial cost. Our income stream will pay for the monthly fee. If necessary, we can annuitize more at that point to make up the difference. Won't have to worry about who's going to be there for us or who's going to make decisions.. you're in control and deciding where you want to be at the point when you make the decision.
Yes and my dad is 87 living with 100 year old sister and we all went to Disney last year.
Everybody does not break down. On the other hand my husband with LTC insurance that was expensive dies from Leukemia at 52. Lol no refund from genworth.
Im not married so don't have to worry about leaving someone destitute.
I see no reason to buy it.
Folks, do your own analysis.
I have seen a lot of older people in our family decline and need assistance. My conclusion is that almost everyone, if we live long enough, will need some type of care in their old age. Have had this conversation with colleagues at work. People don't want to discuss it and want to pretend it will never happen to them. Guess what- it happens to just about everyone in some form. My mom who was healthy as could be and thought she never would need any help needed extensive and expensive assistance the last couple of years of her life. If you don't plan for some sort of assistance, you could end up in a very bad situation in your last years. And don't count on your adult children; they may or may not be there for you.
Now the math on what this Long Term Health Care Plan will cost per year. (Calculator Time!)
Payments are made Quarterly: Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct
For me: $430.60 per quarter = $1722.40 a year
My husband: $342.22 per quarter = $1368.88 a year
Grand Total for both of us: $3091.28 this year
Okay, BIG sticker shock for me! Like most other people here, I want to take the time to figure out cost analysis, risks, benefits. If I cancel this insurance, I won't be able to pass the medical exam today. Or find a more cost affordable policy that offers all these benefits from an insurance plan from ten years ago.
I have many of the same questions as you...but as a single woman in very good health, mid-50's I was finding rates close to yours as a couple! Maybe you're not getting much inflation protection?
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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My father is 98. His wife is 76. She is doing everything and the house is a mess/disaster.
I've offered to hire some help but she refuses. She spends pretty wildly. Still goes to Costco and comes back with something. Hoarders.
It will be a just be matter of when I pay; A little now or a lot later. I will not support her when dad passes. I will give her a little to help clean up the house for her move but that's all. She gave me some of Dad's slippers, I said that I will throw them away. She said that they were never worn (3 pair were obviously very worn) and wants them back. ???? The best shoe is the 40yr Wingtips, but she doesn't want that back, only the $15 slippers?
My rant.
That's covered by Medicare. Which is why all LTCi policies contain the same standard 90-day waiting period.
>>>Thank you for clarifying this! That's great to know about the Medicare. I can see I was confused. I thought that if I wasn't on Medicare yet (age 57) if I went into a care facility before then I would have to pay medical expenses for my first 90 days out-of-pocket first. Then the LTC insurance would start to pay.
BTW, you mentioned that you pay your policy premiums quarterly. I would be willing to bet that you would receive a discount if you paid it annually instead.
>>>Thank you for this too! I will definitely look into this. Learning about all these insurance policies can be a bit overwhelming at times but I enjoy the research and all the helpful hints.
I have many of the same questions as you...but as a single woman in very good health, mid-50's I was finding rates close to yours as a couple! Maybe you're not getting much inflation protection?
Can I ask what company you're looking at?
Single 55 yr old here w/ Fed LTC plan - here's a snapshot at my plan, premiums
Plan FLTCIP 2.0
Plan type (see Covered Services) Comprehensive Plan
Monthly premium $198.62
Biweekly premium 2 $91.67
Daily benefit amount (DBA) $232.62
Waiting period 90 calendar days
Inflation option ACI 3.05%
Benefit period 3 1,825 days
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