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Currently in California, it costs about $37-$42/hour to bring a licensed caregiver into your home. For just 4 hours a day that’s over 4,500 dollars a month. I checked in with some colleagues in Florida and the rate was $28-$32/hour. Still a hefty amount when talking about just four short hours a day. Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Residential Care Homes provide 24-hour care at a much lower monthly rate, but still more than most people’s monthly mortgage or rent.

Buying LTC insurance doesn’t have to be confusing, and of course using an expert in this area is a must. Some tips to keep in mind when looking into LTC insurance:

1. LTC covers Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) which include: bathing, dressing, eating, bathing, transferring, continence. When you can’t perform at least two of the six ADLs that lasts beyond 90 days, this is where your LTC policy works. Cognitive diseases that require substantial supervision regardless if a person can do ADLs is also covered.
2. Where do you want to age in place? Home? Move to an assisted living community, etc.?
3. Who? – Who would be in charge of your care? Who would provide the care? Who’s your back up person? Would you want your family involved in your care as a caregiver, or just manage your care: hire help, place you, etc.? This is a discussion with your family that needs to take place before you need help. What is the impact of having your family be your caregiver?
4. You must qualify for each type of plan and there are so many to choose from based on age, health, resources, state you live, and how you want to age. You can create many types of plans from how much(dollars) daily and how long (years). Did you know that today one of the longest plans is only 7 years?
5. You want to work with a company that has high ratings. Very important! A well-established secure company has the ability to pay these claims in the future. Some companies have shareholders and some companies are owned by the policyholders. So dividends are paid out.
6. Excellent reason to buy: Protect your nest egg. You’ve worked hard to build, now keep it. Some policies pay dividends after a period of time, and keep growing until you no longer have any premium on the policy.

I encourage you to work with an expert and get several quotes to know which policy and company is best for you, your health, and resources in your state. When I spoke to a local expert for this blog, I was surprised to find out that my husband and I could purchase a policy for about $100 a month that would give us 6K/month (together) of peace of mind.  That’s about the cost of your daily coffee and I LOVE coffee.

My final nudge…Is there a chance your health could be compromised in the future? If the answer is yes, then you should think about LTC insurance. Here’s to being the Captain of your ship of aging well.