Long term care insurance

[Anonymous]

I wasn’t sure if this topic belonged here or in Money but I figured I wanted to start the dialogue. I’m the author of the “$14k per month” (and now add $36/$38 per hour for 24/7 care) thread. No end in sight until my mom is no longer ambulatory at all, who knows how long that will be and hospice says she’s looking great.

There is a very good chance that my mom will end up blowing through several hundred thousand dollars over who knows how long before everything is said and done. Basically all the equity from the house she lived in for over 40 years and then some. She has the money and this is what it’s here for. Still a hard pill to swallow and I know her and she would not have wanted it this way, and I know we have no real choice in the matter- she deserves good quality care. Without it she’d probably have to move to skilled nursing, or five seconds after she’s left alone she’d try to get up and fall. Bad choices all around.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about long term care insurance for myself, and wanted to engage with my fellow sandwich generation posters who are in similar situations to me. I’m in my early 50’s and there are some hybrid long term care/life insurance options that seem reasonable when you factor in the actual cost of elder care. Maybe I’m not looking at things objectively due to what I’m living right now and the checks I’m writing, or maybe this is the best idea ever.

Anyone up for a discussion?

[Anonymous]

I have long-term care and long-term disability insurance, and I got both of them in my 30s. This is probably excessively cautious but if I need it, I'll be glad to have it. By the time I am old, I don't know if the insurance companies will still exist, but if I can get anything out of the policies I will be glad. Long term care is expensive. I also have a family history of dementia. I feel strongly for myself that if I develop it, I do not want any screening or treatment for anything that if left untreated would be fatal, even a UTI. Just give me pain relief and let me go. I believe I'd feel this way even if long term care were completely free to my family, but of course it is not.

[Anonymous]

The problem is the insurance companies wrote good policies when long term care insurance was first developed. And they lost their shirts and changed the policies. Whatever you can get today, likely won't cover what you need and believe it or not, will cost a fortune.

[Anonymous]

Where does one obtain LTC insurance and how expensive is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is the insurance companies wrote good policies when long term care insurance was first developed. And they lost their shirts and changed the policies. Whatever you can get today, likely won't cover what you need and believe it or not, will cost a fortune.

This is what I hear. I pay for long-term disability through my employer. I haven't looked into long-term care because of what I've heard.

The people I know have mostly gritted it out with a somewhat dementia-stricken spouse. But that spouse was able to perform some acts of daily living. And my relatives were intensely attached to their real estate.

I would like to live in an ADU or MIL Suite separated from a kid's main space and leave them mostly the heck alone. Or move in with my sibling. And pay for some in-home treatment or errand-running. I'm quiet and fuss free and the Internet brings the world to my door. I would not like to live with a lot of strangers my own age.

[Anonymous]

My small sample size of 3 friend, they don't have it: a Geriatric Physician, and two AL Administrators.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I’m not sure how many companies are still offering LT insurance or how much it would cover. I believe the goal now would be to max out FSA savings and other savings to have the funds….im in the same boat. Teens starting high school and a parent who needs full time care. Other parent currently providing care. Hoping to stay in their home as long as possible, but may need the equity to provide care. It is tough. They were blue collar, hard workers and only have their home as their main asset.

[Anonymous]

I hate to say it, but good quality LT care is going to be unaffordable for all except the very wealthy. My plan is to have around $30k put aside to cover a trip to Switzerland to end things there. Not interested in draining all of my resources and equity into paying for LT care however many years and being stuck in a memory care place. No thanks. I’ll go out on my own terms and when I’m ready, with my dignity intact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say it, but good quality LT care is going to be unaffordable for all except the very wealthy. My plan is to have around $30k put aside to cover a trip to Switzerland to end things there. Not interested in draining all of my resources and equity into paying for LT care however many years and being stuck in a memory care place. No thanks. I’ll go out on my own terms and when I’m ready, with my dignity intact.

Ditto to all this. I'm 63 and have Parkinson's. I'd rather my $ go to my kids.

[Anonymous]

I looked at the policies offered by my employer and they all seemed to cover 3 years or less and a few hundred a day. Not worth it imo

[Anonymous]

OP…go check out Northwestern Mutual. They are the highest rated insurance company and you can feel assured that whatever they quote you hasn’t mispriced the policy (which caused many insurers to go bankrupt/abandon LTC).

The thing few people appreciate is that LTC isn’t for just when you are old…it also kicks in if you have a medical condition that causes you to go through a long period of rehab at a facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say it, but good quality LT care is going to be unaffordable for all except the very wealthy. My plan is to have around $30k put aside to cover a trip to Switzerland to end things there. Not interested in draining all of my resources and equity into paying for LT care however many years and being stuck in a memory care place. No thanks. I’ll go out on my own terms and when I’m ready, with my dignity intact.

Ditto to all this. I'm 63 and have Parkinson's. I'd rather my $ go to my kids.

People say this at our age then it goes south and out of control.

[Anonymous]

DH just diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 57. He’s now ineligible for long-term care insurance, and the prospect of blowing through $1 or $2 million for his care keeps me up at night. To protect myself should I also need care, I bought a life insurance policy with a long-term care rider. Paid six figures upfront, but it will cover quite a bit over a period of years. Should I not need it, my heirs will get back more than I paid, not accounting for inflation and depreciation. Helps me sleep at night. This is a good time for you to look into this, OP.

[Anonymous]

My MIL had LTC insurance and when she was ill and needed home care over the last year of her life, there were hoops to jump and red tape before services could be approved. My DH had to pay out of pocket for caregivers and then my MIL passed away without ever receiving a single benefit from this plan she paid a lot of money for, for years. It was useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say it, but good quality LT care is going to be unaffordable for all except the very wealthy. My plan is to have around $30k put aside to cover a trip to Switzerland to end things there. Not interested in draining all of my resources and equity into paying for LT care however many years and being stuck in a memory care place. No thanks. I’ll go out on my own terms and when I’m ready, with my dignity intact.

Ditto to all this. I'm 63 and have Parkinson's. I'd rather my $ go to my kids.

I’m sorry. How will you know when it’s time?