The great unknown for all of us will we need to be cared for in our later years? A Gallup poll said 76% of Americans believe they will never need nursing home care, assisted living or any other long term care service.
Unfortunately, the reality of the situation paints a much different picture. Life expectancies are up. According to the Center for Disease Control in 2004 the life expectancy for a 65 year old male is 82.1 and a 65 year old female is 85. So if you make it to retirement age the chances of living a long life are very good.
A study done by Conning and Company estimate 6 in 10 of people who reach 65 will require some form of long term care. That is a 60% chance you will need some form of long-term care, yet at last check only 5% of those 65+ have long term care insurance. Well folks if you don't have long term care insurance then you are planning on paying for it out of pocket, or you are counting on your kids to take care of you or maybe you think Medicare and/or Medicaid will take care of you.
Nursing home costs today for a semi-private room runs $66,795 annually, if it grows at 5% per year in 15 years its $141,184 per year. Nursing home stays range from 16 months for cardiac events to 96 months for Alzheimer patients. That's a total cost of $1,348,000 if you self fund it. If your kids take care of you that type of care is pretty much 24/7. What toll will that take on them?
So many just think Medicare and Medicaid will take care of them. If you believe that do some research and see what you'll find. Medicare handles short term things, really nothing more than 90 days. It does NOT handle custodial care in a nursing home, non-medical in home care, adult day care or assisted living.
Medicaid is basically welfare. You have to spend down any significant assets before Medicaid kicks in. You can keep your house, but don't think you will get your equity out of it. Medicaid will put a lien on it if your spouse still lives there otherwise it may have to be sold to pay for your care. So don't think that your house is protected- it is NOT!
So if you are thinking about sacrificing your care to leave the house to the kids, planning on Medicaid is probably not the way to go. There are a lot more reasons to look at other options for your potential long term care, but it would be impossible to address all of them in one article. Please just realize that Medicaid is not the only way to go you could have more, better options.
If you would like more information about long term care options through Reverse Mortgages contact Kurt Jackson he is a Certified Mortgage Planner with more than 17 years of industry experience and would be happy to answer your questions about Reverse Mortgages. He even conducts a Free Seminar "Insider Secrets Revealed! The Truth about Reverse Mortgages: Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for You?" They are held every Thursday at 1:30PM at 12 Westwoods Drive in Liberty. Seating is Limited. Call for reservations at 816-415-1737 or email kurt@stayinyourhomekc.com.
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