According to an AARP study released in January 2007, most Americans have no clue how much Long Term Care is likely to cost in their senior years. And those who do know mistakenly believe the government will pay for it.

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to take charge of your senior health—Check out LTC insurance Today!

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Consider the following true story shared by a family in South Carolina:

Mother had a little money, and she owned the family homestead. When she went into the nursing home, the facility froze her bank account, her CD and her IRA. They took every penny of her Social Security. When she died, the nursing home said that we had to submit the funeral bill, and that anything beyond what it cost for the funeral had to be given to them. Also, we could not sell or even live in the house. They said Mother had died owing $93,000—the amount Medicaid had paid the nursing home after Mother's retirement and CD was all used up. They auctioned the contents of the house. We couldn't even take the family heirlooms or Mother's personal possessions like her books or favorite dishes. All we got was a few pictures. It was all so unfair....

Unfortunately, the story could be repeated by families all across the country. Yet, only 18% of eligible people have invested in Long Term Care Health Insurance (LTCi). Recent promotions and information programs paid for by the government are intended to motivate people to invest in this important protection.

Buying LTCi doesn't need to be a traumatic experience.
Because the concept is still relatively new, many people put off or altogether refuse getting a Long-term Care policy. The following commonly asked questions should make the decision easier.

When does the policy pay?
If you have a tax qualified policy, you usually have to be unable to conduct two daily activities without standby or hands on assistance. A non-tax qualified policy may require impairment in only one activity. A cognitive impairment takes precedence over a physical impairment.

What type of care does the policy cover?
Policies today are more flexible than those of the past. Many cover home care and assisted living care as well as nursing home care.

How much will the policy pay?
You will choose a maximum daily benefit. However, that doesn't mean you have to spend the full amount every day. If you can supplement with your own resources, you will make the policy last longer.

What is a benefit multiplier?
That is the number of days a policy would pay 100% of your maximum daily benefit. According to the Federal Government statistics, the average stay in a nursing home is 30 months.

Why is there a waiting period?
The waiting period—also called the elimination period—lowers your premium. It means that you will pay for the first 30 to 180 days before your policy starts paying.

What about premium waiver?
You want the premium waived when you go on care, and some companies will waive the premium for both husband and wife if either goes on care.

What if nursing home costs go up?
They will. All companies offer an inflation rider that will increase your benefit a little each year. The premium does not go up correspondingly, but is much higher from the start than a policy without an inflation rider.

How do I know the company will pay?
Most people do not need to use a LTCi policy for 10 or more years after purchasing it. Therefore, you want to choose a company that has been around for awhile and can demonstrate to you that they understand the implications and responsibilities of their product.
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For your reference, the following are four well known longterm care ins. companies: Allianz, CNA, GE Capital Assurance Company, John Hancock.

(Note:1sthealthinsurancequotes.com. does not endorse these companies)

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