Comments on: Long-term care insurance

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:17:31 +0000

That’s a fantastic idea. We ran into some trouble when my grandma ended up in intensive care two years ago. She handles all of she and my grandpa’s financial matters and with none of it being electronic my lawyer aunt/power of attorney had to go back and forth with one of the companies about a payment that was late but not really but they understand the circumstances but but but… endless silliness. It was a huge pain. And because the illness was not LTC related (burst appendix, ruptured colon) missing payments might have been quite problematic.

(Grandma, for her part, is doing great; just turned 84)

By: Scott A Olson

Scott A Olson — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:58:35 +0000

I met a man in NJ who had a massive stroke in his mid-50’s. He lost most of his memory and was completely paralyzed on one side.

His wife and sons visited him everyday. He was in a beautiful facility with a very caring staff. It’s sad enough that his wife has essentially lost the love of her life. No more dancing, no more traveling, no more romantic getaways. Her life completely changed in a moment and she essentially lost the love of her life, in a twinkle. Although the emotional burden on her is immense, the financial burden makes it nearly unbearable. She’s having to pay close to $100,000 per year out of their retirement savings for his care. It is having a huge impact on her financial future.

The emotional burden is tough enough.
The financial burden makes it even worse.

I think that one of the most loving things spouses can do for each other is protect against this risk.

Scott A. Olson
http://www.LTCInsuranceShopper.com

By: copyeditorsdesk

copyeditorsdesk — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:03:44 +0000

That’s good to know!

Still, it’s impossible to guess just how flakey you’ll get before they lock you up in an institution. At 63, I (for example) am already doing wacko things like putting my toothbrush in the hall closet and then wondering what happened to it.

As adults age, our judgment falters. A recent study showed that after about 55 or 60, people tend to make bad financial decisions (I can testify to the truth of that…), and we all know how many scammers prey on the elderly. I live alone. There’s no one to help me and no one to stop me from doing some stupid thing like canceling all my EFTs or closing my checking account without arranging for bills to be paid and then failing to pay one or more of the monthly duns.

So it’s entirely conceivable that something could happen to stop the premium payments without one being so incapacitated as to be shut up in a nursing home.

By: Charley Day

Charley Day — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:25:46 +0000

If you are in the situation where you need your Long Term Care benefits, you no longer have to pay your premiums so it doesn’t matter any more if you cannot pay your bill.