* Are You Willing to Gamble You Won’t Need Insurance for Long Term Care?

If it wasn’t clear before, it sure is now - There will likely be long term care in your future. If it isn’t you who needs care, then the percentages are high that you will be in the position of a caregiver.

This heartbreaking quote is just the tip of the iceberg with this personal account of the elder care journey:

“Had I only known to insist that we buy Long Term Care Insurance for them prior to their illnesses, their many years of in-home care could have been paid for and I could have saved myself so much heartache, not to mention a small fortune.”

And the blog post goes on at Third Age… “I encourage you to learn from my mistakes and look into LTC insurance long before you need it-for your loved ones as well as yourself. Like fire insurance, hopefully, you’ll never have to use it.”

Also included are these STARTLING STATISTICS:

* An estimated 4.5 to 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. In a Gallup poll, 1 in 10 Americans said that they had a family member with Alzheimer’s, and 1 in 3 knew someone with the disease.

* Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. One in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly half over 85 are affected. Rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s can even strike individuals in their 30’s and 40’s.

* A person with Alzheimer’s disease will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 years or more from the first onset of symptoms.

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More than 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease live at home, where family and friends provide 80 percent of their care. The estimated value of this informal care is $257 billion annually.

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One half of the U.S. population has a chronic condition. More than one quarter (26.6%) of the adult population provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend, which translates to more than 50 million people involved with caregiving.

* 37% of caregivers are living in the same household as the person they care
for. 54% are between 35 and 64 years of age. 59% of the adult
population either is or expects to be a family caregiver, and 2 million
more caregivers will be needed in the next twenty years.

* An estimated 43% of Americans age 65 or older will spend time in a nursing home. By 2012, 75% of Americans over age 65 will require long-term care. Long-term care costs are rising at 6% annually.

* The annual cost of Alzheimer’s care in the U.S. is at least $100 billion, and it will soar to at least $375 billion by mid-century, overwhelming our health care system and bankrupting Medicare and Medicaid.

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Alzheimer’s disease costs American business $61 billion a year, which is equivalent to the net profits of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies. $24.6 billion covers Alzheimer health care, and $36.5 billion covers costs related to caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s, including lost productivity, absenteeism and worker replacement.

We recommend researching Long-Term Care Insurance coverage through the Buyer’s Advocate.

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