on Mar 19th, 2006Long Term Care Insurance Betting Odds
Long term care insurance is the bully who pokes fun at you on your journey to _________ (fill in the blank based on your own beliefs, this is America after all). Should you pay those hefty premiums in advance in the event you require nursing home care after a stroke or heart attack?
Marketing to consumers, especially media savvy Baby Boomers, has gotten a lot more sophisticated since grandma and grandpa retired. Insurance companies, already flush with workplace health nsurance premiums, are now setting their sights on the rapidly growing senior population.
Like all marketing, first you have to state the problem. Here it’s the idea that you will become incapacitated and require around the clock nursing care. But that’s enormously expensive if you have to pay it out of pocket. The solution: long term care insurance. But what are the real odds you’ll need it?
Now Inquiry, a publication of Excellus Health Plan, offers up (finally!) some insightful numbers.
The good news:
31% of all 65-year-olds will NEVER need long term care
The bad news:
69% of all 65-year-olds will need long term care before they die
Here’s the breadown (odds):
- 20% will need more than 5 years of long term care
- 20% will need 2 to 5 years of long term care
- 12% will need 1 to 2 years of long term care
- 17% will need less than 1 year of long term care
The trick, of course, is taking a look at your family history and deciding which odds apply to you. Are you part of the lucky one third? Can you comfortably afford to pay out of pocket for a year or two, as long as it costs you less than the premiums you would have paid? This is the bet being wagered.
But at least now you have some numbers to work with, so the next time you get a brochure in the mail or a cold call from an insurance agent, you can multiple the premiums times the odds and figure out whether it’s worth your money.
Click here for more information on long term care insurance
Choose the Right Long-Term Care: Home Care, Assisted Living & Nursing Homes (Choose the Right Long-Term Care)
by Joseph Matthews
Trying to Shed Light on the Muddle of Long-Term Care
By HUBERT B. HERRING
Published: March 19, 2006