Have considered it, have NOT purchased it. I think it is simply an expensive roll of the dice. Should we reach the point that long term care becomes necessary our caretaker will need to manage our income in a manner to be able to pay for such care or the house(s) can be sold and the proceeds of any such sale can take care of it. If short-term care becomes necessary, we'll just face that when/if it becomes necessary. We decided it was an expensive iffy prospect.

 

This is from the State of New Jersey, but the jargon and things to consider are mapped out well.

http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ins_ombudsman/ltcguide.htm

If you could forecast your medical needs 5 year's out and divest your assets, Medicaid would pay the entire bill. Hiding money in the mattress is not such a bad idea.

This is what the insurance commpany looks at: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html

 

Jet, I'm aware of that strategy and it is what got me thinking about this. Five years is a long, long time. And when you divest, you really have to trust others to follow your wishes. I have heard too many horror stories about that. If I had a very modest retirement account, I would think about it, but that won't work for me.

Deb, Genworth is the company I am talking with.

Paul, glad to hear someone else has it. Thanks for that good advice.

For me there are several pros for doing this. One is that the policy will pay for in-home care. Sadly, medicare and medicaid do not offer very much in this area. Even though the private insurance companies recognize it is much less expensive to have someone carred for at home than in a nursing home, the government hasn't caught on yet.

The second is the liklihood of the need. My mother and Barbara's father both spent years in nursing homes. So we both have a 50-50 genetic shot at needing long term care. I know that is not very scientific and is probably incorrect, but that is how I see it, all other things being equal.

The third is the cost to risk analysis. While this will cost a lot every year, just six or seven months of a nursing home for one of us will cost more than 15 years of premiums for both of us. If one of us goes in for three years, that will be about $300,000 given the local nursing home rates. That amount would eat up a 401K for a lot of folks.

Fourth, in Massachusetts, your house is safe from Medicaid leins if you have a certain level of LTC coverage. This is very important for spouses who are worried about the survivor who is still at home.

The agent had one pitch that was very effective. He pointed out that one in three end up needing a nursing home while one in 100 have a house fire. But we all have fire insurance for the home. I ponted out that his analogy was imperfect because the fire policy covers all risks and can be used for any casualty to the home that is not specifically excluded, but his point was well taken.

 

^I thought that medicaid couldn't count your 401K, but they do. http://www.ehow.com/info_7747054_can...keep-401k.html

 

LB - you do definitely need to consider how long you might be in assisted living/nursing care. My aunt was an extreme example, since she was in assisted living for nine years, much longer than average. Payment came 100% out of her investments for about six/seven of those. The last two/three, I was able to write off all of her care for tax purposes, since she was being provided all assistance for daily living, not just some. She had about $550K when she started there in 1998, and at the end had about $150K left. Monthly costs for her ran about $6500 (she died in 2007), so your $100K figure sounds right. I was just starting to get a bit nervous about her life span when she died (at 99). You are smart to take everything about your family medical history/life span/health into account, but in the end it is pretty much a crapshoot. Isn't that what insurance is all about? The odds...good luck!!

 

total care living until you die



fltsfshr

 

Thanks for that link, Grant. what do they charge to live there?

 

Bill I have no idea. There are lots of this type of facility around Naples and Ft Myers. Moorings Park is probably the nicest around here.

I imagine they want everything you have, but you get treated really well until you die.

Here's another one Shell Point Fish till you die!!!

fltsfshr

 

Hmmm. I wonder if they let you have your own boat, or if you just sign up for a guided ride in their boat.

 

I plan to steal a plane and auger in before I need nursing care.

Speaking of Dr. Kevorkian, did you read his book? It's called "I'm okay, you're D.O.A.".