Did you know that according to U.S. Census statistics almost 15% of all people requiring long term care in the United States are between the ages of 40 and 65? Long term care is not restricted only to the elderly.
And did you also know that Medicare does NOT provide for long term care should you need it? Most people are woefully unaware of this until it is too late.
Here in Missouri state-funded Medicaid does provide some coverage for those needing long term health care, but the coverage may not be what you were planning on. In order to qualify for state long term care coverage you must first spend every penny of your own assets, which includes selling your home, any stocks or bonds you may have, and emptying all of your bank accounts.
In order to qualify for Missouri state Medicaid you must first be indigent.
Then, once you have no assets of any kind you are at the total mercy of the Medicaid system; you must go to the facility they choose for you, you must use the doctors they choose for you and you must have the treatments that they choose for you.
If this doesnt sound like the kind of life you were hoping for, then it may be time to begin looking for a long term care insurance policy that can provide you some peace of mind. In fact, the sooner you purchase long term care insurance, the cheaper it will be since premiums go up each time you celebrate a birthday.
Sit down right now and start designing a long term care insurance package thats right for you. Most plans have a cap on the total amount they will pay out for your long term care. Have some idea of how much you will need that cap to be. You need to be aware, too, that plans which cover round-the-clock nursing home care can be more expensive than plans which cover in-home day care.
There is also something called the Elimination Period. This is just insurance-speak for a deductible. The longer your Elimination Period in other words, the more money you are willing to spend for your own long term care before you ask insurance to take over the lower your monthly premium will be.
Go online and find a few websites that allow you to make comparisons between various long term care insurance policies and their costs. Plan to spend a little time looking around and running various alternatives. Dont be surprised if you end up spending several sessions over more than one day running different long term care scenarios before you come up with the policy and the price thats right for you.
Remember, long term care may not be something that most people like to think about, but such care is a fact of life for over 50% of all Missouri residents 65 or older. So unless you want to leave all the choices in the hands of others, it is imperative that you take matters into your own hands and get cheap long term care insurance in Missouri today while the choices are still yours to make.
About The Author
