John Hancock Leading Edge Long Term Care Insurance - Pt. 1

A recent article released by Terry Savage of the Chicago Sun-Tims tells us about a new “Leading Edge” John Hancock policy that she claims simplifies the choices, lowers the costs, and makes buying a long term care policy much easier.

Isn’t that great!

Let’s take a closer look…keeping in mind that I’m not an LTCi professional. I’m a lay-person, just like you, but my disabled hubby, Clay, is a former long term care insurance broker, and we keep an eye on the industry.

Ms. Savage’s words are in italics, and my comments follow…

The average nursing home cost is about $75,000 a year. This is true. The cost of long term care in skilled nursing homes ranges from about $190,000 per year in Alaska to around $40,000-50,000 a year in some midwestern states. That cost does not include things like haircuts, manicures, books or new clothing - just room and board and nursing care.

72 percent of all nursing home residents are women, many of whom spent their energy and money taking care of a spouse, and now find themselves alone and impoverished. Ouch - This is absolutely true. Women live longer than men, and women are generally the caregivers in the family. Even caregiving at home can be expensive, not to mention physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting - But once your loved one needs more care than you can provide, then watch out, because the costs can be catastrophic.

Long Term Care is not covered by Medicare. True. There are only 3 ways to pay for long term care. 1) Private pay - your nest egg. 2) Medicaid - reserved for the impoverished (and strict “look back” laws apply to make sure you have not fraudulently “impoverished” yourself in order to obtain government assistance) 3) Long Term Care Insurance policies - and if you can afford one, then get it early.

Do you want to spend your final years in a state-funded nursing home, just at a time when other baby boomers are crowding in? This is a provocative statement. The truth is, all nursing homes must have a certain (limited) percentage of Medicaid beds, so even the nicest nursing homes offer Medicaid beds. However, you may have difficulty getting a Medicaid bed in the really great nursing homes, because so many other folks will be wanting those same welfare beds.

Check all your options with your Buyer’s Advocate.

Continue to Part 2

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