Long term care isn’t about nursing care or IRA’s or insurance. It’s about the consequences families face when the very basic activates of daily living become a challenge and there is no plan to pay for the necessary help.
It begins with the recognition that you will likely live a long life and that aging will require the assistance to live normally. Families are most often willing to provide help but that will become real old real fast. They have lives they are living and the last thing anybody wants is to become a burden to the people they love. Besides, your daughter or son don’t have the training necessary to provide effective care. The saving grace for the families well-being is to hire professional help.
That costs money.
Where does it come from?
There are only three resources: (1) your own savings (reverse mortgage), (2) government plans (Medicaid – Medi-Cal) or (3) insurance, if you can get it.
(1) Savings – A lot of effort and sacrifice went into a life-time of toil to accumulate what you have. It is unlikely that the hope during those years and those efforts were to pay for home care or nursing home care. That money was suppose to provide a decent retirement and maybe pass along money to your children or grandchildren.
(2) Government Plans – State and Federal plans do provide a safety net for people with little assets. Legal plans can actually make you look poor to create eligibility. Those who choose this route, however, are likely to be disappointed with the quality of care. People with money will get better care.
(3) Long Term Care Insurance – Put a little money in to get a lot of money out. There are several plan options and designs to fit every budget. The end result is that your family can become care managers and focus on yours and their emotional needs and pay for professional help with the money that comes from the insurance company.
For more information, feel free to contact Irvine II Highrise Member Jim Better.
