Funding long-term care insurance
Thanks for that article. It got me thinking and researching. Turns out that due to my medical history, I probably would not qualify. So I continued studying the issues and hit on the concept of self-insuring for long-term care. Although many people wouldn’t be able to afford that approach, it would be very useful for everyone to at least consider self-insuring, so it would be really nice if you’d follow up your article with info and options for those who can’t qualify for the commercial insurance.
Terry Says
It’s almost impossible to self-insure for the costs of long term care. Remember, these costs keep rising and can be hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for round-the-clock care. They can drain all your savings, leaving very little for a “community spouse” — or for your heirs. And as a last resort, you can turn to state Medicaid programs. But that’s the whole reason to purchase insurance — if you qualify — so you don’t need to spend almost every last penny. And that’s another reason to purchase in your 50s, while — presumably– your health gives you a better chance of qualifying.
We just taped a podcast with Brian Gordon, quoted in my article. It should be up soon at www.FriendsTalkMoney.org — and you can hear his comments in that regard.
But getting back to self-insuring — that will require a LOT of savings to do on your own. Maybe let Brian check into a combo life/LTC policy for you. It could be expensive, but there could be a possibility.
