by 011. July 2012 23:19Senior care costs can spiral up as care needs advance, as all senior caregivers have experienced. Right now, Americans must pay for their own long-term senior care, unless they have nearly no assets and qualify for Medicaid health insurance for very low-income seniors. One solution to help pay for senior care costs is long-term care insurance. But it now it seems that even these insurance companies are questioning if they can cover the costs of paying for senior care with their policies.
Terry Savage, a financial columnist, provides an overview of the long-term care insurance industry in her column this week. Combination products, or "combo products" are one way to fund long-term care that allows you to leverage the insurance contract. You can have as much as six times the amount you paid in premium to use for paying for long-term care expenses.
Insurance companies offering these combo products are:
- State Life Insurance Company, a division of OneAmerica
- Lincoln Financial Group
- Genworth
These combo products combine the concepts of an annuity or life insurance policy with long-term care insurance. As nursing homes can cost as much as $300 per day (you can access nursing home costs in Caregiverlist's nursing home directory), and Medicare does not pay for long-term care, it is important to evaluate and plan ahead for senior care.
TerrySavage,
nursinghomecosts,
seniorcare