When you’re young, you think you’re invincible. You think your skin will never sag and this body will hold out forever, but as I get older and older that truth becomes less and less true. Growing old is just part of life and with that comes a few things that are important to think about especially while you’re young. No, I’m not talking about a facelift or Botox, but something much more crucial that goes beyond exterior care and focuses on quality of life. That little something can be much more gratifying than the best plastic surgeon. That little something is long term care.
I didn’t think much about “our plan” up until a year ago. Everything changed when my grandma was rushed to the ER for internal bleeding which caused a catalyst of events that ended with my grandparents selling their home and moving into an assisted living center. It would be nice to say, yes, there was a plan, but in this case, there wasn’t. Communication and expectations were crossed. We were lucky that finances and timing all worked out, but I always wonder what if it hadn’t. With nursing homes and assisted care in parts of the country costing as much as $10,000 a month, a long-term need for care can deplete even the best-planned estate and will obliterate the non-planned estate. As a result, many people buy long-term care insurance to cover this risk. There’s a great advantage of this insurance that most policies now cover home care and assisted living care as well as nursing home care, causing some insurance agents to describe it as “avoid nursing home insurance”. From watching my grandparent’s journey, there is a change in culture. The stigma for nursing homes or assisted livings have changed from what the parents of and some baby boomer perceived as negative to what gen x and now millennials conceptualize as a community to stay and play in. The biggest key on whether long term care insurance is right for you is communication. It can be a painful topic, especially when expectations are not on the same page, but a plan on your own terms is better than a forced decision based on usually negative events.
Though long-term care is usually targeted at the elderly that is not it’s only use. If you’re out of work for an extended period of time, long-term care could help supplement an income while you are out of commission. The key to most things in health insurance is not to wait till you’re old to make the decision to buy it. Sometimes by then your health is at risk which could cause extremely high premiums and depending on health conditions, could even render you uninsurable. The best thing to do is to plan and buy when you’re young. Premiums are low and health is good.
If you have questions regarding your Oklahoma City long term care insurance, ECI is always here.
