Protect your assets from the cost of home care or nursing home care when you are unable to live independently.

Medicare does not pay for Long Term Care costs. It has limited benefits for a short time after a hospital confinement but will not continue paying for care over the long term. Home Healthcare and Nursing Home costs must be paid out of your own individual funds. This money is usually the funds you've set aside for retirement. It's only after virtually all of your assets are gone ($2000 in most States) that Medicaid will assist in your long term care costs. But then it is on their terms and at locations that accept Medicaid's limited payments.

Care is expensive. Average home healthcare costs are over $43,000 per year. Consider paying a home caregiver $15 per hour, for just 8 hours of daily care, that cost will run $3600 per month, $43,200 per year.  Around the clock (24 hour) care, at $15 per hour, is $10,800 per month.  Add normal living expenses such as rent, utilities, food.. and monthly care can easily exceed $12,000.  And Nursing Home costs are considerable too. The average Nursing Home cost today is about $208 per day, $6240 per month, or $76,000 per year.

Not many retirement accounts are prepared to withstand that amount of financial drain. This is where Long Term Care Insurance can help. Today's policies can pay whether you stay in your home or reside in an Assisted Living facility or a Nursing Home. Insurance generally will pay for your care, up to the limits preset in the policy, beginning when you are unable to perform 2 of the Activities of Daily Living.  Today there are even policies that offer 100% money back guarantees and will turn into a life insurance policy if you never use the Long Term Care coverage. 

The basic Activities of Daily Living are: Eating; Bathing; Dressing; Transferring from Bed to chair, and back; Voluntary control of urine and bowels; and Toileting (using the bathroom).

Plans can be designed to fit most budgets. Remember some coverage will be very helpful even if it doesn't pay 100% of your costs.