What would all you experts advise regarding Long term care for a 74 year old female in Florida. She is 5'5" 175 pounds and on medications for HBP and cholesterol. She had a heart attack 13 years ago and is a non smoker. Her 6 children would split the cost of premium. Looking for available options and ballpark premiums and benefits as well as possible assistance since I am not well versed in LTC and do not want to jeopardize client or family. Truly appreciate any advice,insight etc. Thank you.
Long Term Care Advice Sought
- Thread starter Go Green
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What is her net worth?
That should be the barometer by which they determine how much benefit to purchase.
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If her net worth is under $25,000, I'll assume that she does not even own a home.
If that is the case, there is no financial reason for purchasing long-term care insurance. She could qualify for Medicaid very easily.
The only advantage to owning a policy would be that she would have a few more choices of where to receive care.
If by "under $25,000" you meant that she owns a home, free and clear, plus has about $25,000 in savings, then they should buy an LTCi policy with a Maximum Benefit that is equal to the value of the home.
For example, if the home is worth $150K, they can buy her a policy with a 2 year Benefit Period and a $200 Daily Benefit. That means the policy would have a Maximum Benefit of $146,000 ($200 x 365 x 2 years = $146,000)
Once the policy runs out of benefits, she can qualify for Medicaid, and as long as the policy was a Partnership-Qualified-Policy, Medicaid would not attach a lien to the home.
But, if her net worth, including the value of her home, is truly "under $25,000", I don't see the point in buying a policy for her. I really don't.
First of all, I agree with the other poster than LTC is likely not necessary since she is low income and can qualify for Medicaid quickly if something happens, but if the kids want her to move into the nice assisted living community @ $3500/month down the street from them that does not take Medicaid patients, and the 6 kids all want to chip in $50-70/month each on a product that may never get utilized, she can get a fair amount of protection for 3-4 years. Even at these amounts, the plan could run out of gas in the event of lengthy nursing home stay. You may want to look at someone like MetLife on their Value Plan as a place to start.
Hopefully she can even qualify for coverage.
Guess its up to the kids in this case.
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