Healthcare Planning

Long Term Care Insurance 101: What You Need to Know

Many families worry about how they will pay for the costs of care for their senior loved ones. If a senior’s needs are non-medical, options like health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid will not cover the costs of senior care.

Investing in a long-term care insurance policy is one of the best ways to financially prepare for long-term care costs, and it can be a great way to give families peace of mind as their senior loved one's age.

Long-term care insurance policies are designed to reimburse their policyholders a daily benefit amount for services to assist them with activities of daily living (ADLs). Long-term care benefits help keep the financial burden off of family members when their loved ones have chronic illness, or are aging in good health, but simply need additional care and attention on a daily or weekly basis.

Not only does LTC cover in-home care through home care providers, it also covers other long-term care services like assisted living facilities, skilled nursing home care and memory care communities. Some of the key components to consider when purchasing an LTC policy are the benefit amount (also known as the amount of coverage), the benefit period and the elimination period.

How to Start a Conversation About End-of-Life Care

"Planning for your final days is hard, but it's an invaluable gift to caregivers and loved ones"

This 2021 Article from AARP addresses this difficult topic. It also references the "Your Conversation Starter Guide" a product of the Conversation Project, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. This guide is available on this site under Healthcare Planning.

"How we want to die is the most important and costly conversation Americans aren't having. Consider these facts:

• Ninety percent of people think it is important to talk about end-of-life wishes with their loved ones, but only 27 percent have done so, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services.
  
• One in 5 respondents to a 2018 survey by the Conversation Project, which works to promote greater discussion of end-of-life-care, said they've avoided the subject out of worry about upsetting their loved ones.
  
• A sizable majority of people say they want to die at home, but 60 percent die in hospitals or institutions."

Vanguard: Planning for Retirement Health Care Costs

Chances are you already know about the kinds of health care costs you'll face in retirement—they're not too different from your preretirement costs. So how much really changes when you hit age 65? We took a look at your health care cost breakdown.

The article initially focuses on Medicare and Medicare plans, but if you venture into the available links, you will learn a lot more about important planning considerations. I recommend following the provided links to learn more.

Vanguard is a very traditional and reliable source of information. Keep in mind that they are also providers of financial investment products and service.

ALTCS

"ALTCS: Health Insurance for Individuals Who Require Nursing Home Level of Care

The Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS, pronounced ALL-Tecs) is health insurance for individuals who are age 65 or older, or who have a disability, and who require nursing facility level of care. Services may be provided in an institution or in a home or community-based setting."

Use this site to learn about the program and how to apply. This is the long-term Medicaid option in Arizona.

How to Plan for Healthcare Costs in Retirement

How do you account for health care costs in your retirement planning? If you're like most people, you're underestimating these expenses.

This is another sponsored site. Many of the available online resources will be sponsored sites. You always need to vet any professionals or services that you might actually engage in advance, but to engage you they often offer many valuable resources to help introduce you to the topic.

Key Takeaways

• Many retirees and people getting ready to transition out of the workforce forget to budget for healthcare when they estimate their expenses in retirement.
• There are five types of health care premiums you are likely to have in retirement: Medicare Part B, Medigap, Medicare Part C, Medicare Part D, and long-term care.
• Annual out-of-pocket expenses are growing along with the rising cost of medical care.
• If you plan on retiring early (before 65) make sure you understand the cost of carrying your own health insurance premiums until you reach Medicare age.

In addition, there are many on point supporting articles for your consideration.

Current Care Planning for Veterans

Identifying Your Health Priorities and the Care You Want to Receive.

The more you and your health care team know about What Matters most to you, the better you can work together to make treatment decisions – the range of care choices that could be offered –that meet needs while honoring Veteran priorities. Patient Priorities Care helps patients and health care providers focus all decision-making and health care on What Matters most: patients’ own health priorities.

This type of care can work well for people who must manage multiple conditions, multiple medications and spend a lot of time seeing lots of health care professionals. Often, all that care for all those conditions can make the care these Veterans receive feel burdensome, and it may not address What Matters most to them.

Patient Priorities Care recognizes that, when faced with tradeoffs, people differ in their own health outcome goals – what they want to achieve from their care, and in their care preferences – what they are willing and able to do to achieve their goals.

The Patient Priorities Care approach is meant to be a collaboration between Veterans, their caregivers and their VA clinicians. These resources can help you identify your priorities, talk with your VA providers and loved ones about them and make decisions together about getting the most benefit from your health care.

ALTCS—Get Help and Guidance at Senior Planning

What is ALTCS

"ALTCS (pronounced ALTECS) is an acronym for the Arizona Long Term Care System. ALTCS is an Arizona Medicaid program that is designed to help fixed income seniors and other disabled individuals afford the care that they need. ALTCS pays for the care that you need after savings are exhausted. The program requires an application and typically takes between 60 and 90 days for approval. We are not the governmental ALTCS Medicaid office, but Senior Planning is happy to assist you through the application process along with finding care."

ALTCS Eligibility

The Arizona Long Term Care program is for seniors and disabled individuals that need long term care. There are two components to the application. The first is a financial assessment, determining whether or not the applicant can afford to pay for necessary care on their own. We are happy to go over your specific financial situation to determine whether or not you qualify.

The second component is the functional and medical assessment, which determines whether a person is truly in need of long-term care. Total need is determined by points with a successful application scoring 60 points or higher."

Senior Planning is another company providing assistance in applying and qualifying for ALTCS. There are several companies available in Arizona and they can provide useful assistance for a fee. ALTCS long-term care services takes careful planning.