How Will You Pay For Your Long-Term Care?

Self-Insure: For an individual with substantial retirement income and assets, self-insurance may be an option. Most individuals and families are not in a position to selfinsure, however.

Medicare/Medicaid: Medicare will only pay for the first 20 days of skilled nursing care after a minimum three-day stay in the hospital. Although Medicaid, a state welfare program partially funded by the federal government, may eventually pay for nursing home (or other similar facility) and other long-term care expenses, to qualify, the patient must spend down assets and become impoverished.

Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI): LTCI is designed to help cover the costs of long-term care to help protect assets and assure more choices about the types and quality of care. Typically, long-term care premiums are paid over the lifetime of the insured. However, some policies offer limited-pay premiums where the policy is paid up after 10 years or by age 65.

Life Insurance Policy with LTC Insurance Benefits Rider: Another option that provides some financial assistance is a life insurance policy with an LTCI benefits rider that will accelerate the death benefit and also provide additional monies to pay for LTC services. Some of these policies accept a one-time lump-sum payment, paying for a specific number of years (short pay) or paying over the insured’s lifetime.

Moreover, existing in-force life insurance policies may be exchanged tax-free into a life insurance/LTCI policy.

The following types of care are standard features found in most comprehensive long-term care insurance policies:

• Nursing Home Facilities
• Assisted Living Facilities (aka Residential Care Facilities)
• Home Health Care
• Adult Day Care
• Respite Care
• Care Coordination

Your Oppenheimer Financial Professional can work with you to create a plan that fits your needs and financial goals for the future.