The unfortunate consequences of requiring long term care can also effect your assets. A major health concern that requires long term care such as nursing home stay, assisted living, or home health care can deplete your assets. Medicare will not cover your long term care needs if you have a substantial amount of net worth. This is one of the most overlooked reasons to invest in Long Term Care Insurance – as an asset protection vehicle.
If you own property and maintain retirement savings that you would like to keep and pass on to your family, you may be jeopardizing your your life savings by not insuring it. Medicare doesn’t cover long term care costs, and relying on Medicaid could limit your choice of care and facilities. Even worse your life savings will have to be spent down before Medicaid until your reach poverty level.
The middle class is stuck in a conundrum because they might have too little to pay for extended long term care services, and too much for government programs life Medicaid. With the majority of baby boomers retiring over the next two decades Medicare could start limiting the services it will cover.
What are your options? Start gifting property to your children along with savings and other assets. However Medicaid has a look back period of 5 years which will require to still spend all gifts and assets given to your family before Medicaid kicks in to pay your bills. So the question is when do your start gifting your assets to your children? Are your assets safe with your children?
A safe and cost effective option is to not only protect your assets by insure for the long term care services that you will need. Long Term Care Insurance is double protection. It covers your long term care costs, while protecting your assets.
For the Medicaid 5 year look back period it is usually wise to invest in LTC insurance for up to 5 years, allowing you to start gifting your assets away within that five year period before medicaid kicks in. Again the risk is if Medicaid decides to extend that period, since it was 3 years.
A safe solution is invest in a Long Term Care Insurance policy whereby you are not relying on Medicaid, unless its your last result. Long Term Care Insurance allows your to be in control of the care, location, and services that you will require. It probably not wise to allow the government to control your health and your assets.
Finally another option you might be able to select from is your stats LTC Partnership Program. Some stats allow you to purchase an amount of LTC Insurance under the program while still keeping your assets. Each state has its own rules so contact us to learn more about the options you have available where your live or request a Long Term Care Insurance Quote.
