2019-2020 Health Care Guide

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R ESPONSIBlE P lANNING fOR l ONG T ERM C ARE N EEDS Medicaid and Medicare for benefits if and when they require expensive care, no amount of government-sponsored education or tax breaks will change the underlying behavior. My message to you is to pre-plan, save, invest or insure for long-term care. Do not get caught up in denial which holds one back from pre-planning for long- term care needs. Remember, by pre- planning for your long-term care needs, you are actually giving your self more options when care is needed. Planning ahead gives you a voice after you are incapacitated and allows a choice in the type of care that you receive. By failing to pre-plan, you are putting a burden on your family, limiting the type of care you receive, and potentially putting your “nest egg” at risk in the process. By pre-planning, we also fulfill our responsibilities as citizens. The best way not to become poor is to take the risk of long-term care seriously and make sure you have adequate protection for you and your family. How can we pre-plan? If you are between the ages of 55-70, seriously evaluate the possibility of long-term care insurance. Long-term care insur- ance is not appropriate for everyone. Never buy from someone who tries to rush you into a decision after only one meeting. Always work with a Long-term care specialist who represents several

ost Americans want to be good providers for their families and good citi- zens. Both responsibilities require fore- thought, vigilance and planning. Today, the least expected and most daunting chal- lenge for our country and ourselves is to provide competent, humane and loving long-term care for our elders . . . and ulti- mately, for ourselves. Yet, we are unpre- pared--as individuals and as a country--for this responsibility. Few older Americans, and fewer-still baby boomers, have private long-term care insurance to help with the catastrophic cost of long-term care for chronic illness. Consequently, most people end up in nursing homes on public welfare when they need professional care instead of pay- ing privately for help in their own homes or assisted living. Why does this remain true even as the age wave begins to crest and threatens to crash upon us? For 38 years, our government has tried to provide long-term care services through Medicaid and Medicare. This effort, while well intentioned, has never provided ade- quate care to enough people in the most desirable settings. But it has, unintention- ally, de-sensitized us to the risk and cost of long-term care. Today, the government- financed, welfare-based, nursing-home- oriented system is falling apart, character- ized by limited access, poor care, and widespread bankruptcies. The government needs to act quickly to educate the public about the necessity to plan early and save, invest or insure fully for long-term care. Will it? We will prob- ably see measures of this kind passed by Congress and signed by the President sometime in the near future. This will help, but will not alone solve the problem. As long as most people continue to ignore the risk of long-term care, avoid the pre- miums for private insurance, and rely on

companies rated in one of the top two cat- egories by at least two rating services. This way you can compare prices and fea- tures to determine which is best for you. Remember, long-term care insurance is necessary to insure that any transfer of money can take place outside of the 60- month lookback. The law’s have changed on divestments and gifting as of 2/8/06. I recommend that every senior take a per- sonal inventory. This should include a health history, legal inventory, income inventory, asset inventory and insurance inventory. For example, your legal inven- tory should have advanced directives. You need to have a Health Care Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney and a Will in place. You should be investigating the use of a quitclaim deed to protect your “cottage up north” or your homestead. You also need to take an inventory of your investments. I often find that older seniors loose track of “all their holdings”. My emotional inventory usually encour- ages clients to “pre-plan” for their funeral arrangements using irrevocable burial trusts. Insurance inventory forces us to re-evaluate our life insurance policies, disability policies, long term care insur- ance and Medicare supplements. Income inventory allows us to evaluate total income, and income after the death of a spouse. An inventory of assets is of great importance when evaluating asset preser- vation, asset transfer, and gifting. Remember, the decisions you make today are the decisions that you and your fami- lies will have to live with tomorrow. Please call 1-(866) 670-0888 for a free consultation. Article submitted by Barbara Horstmeyer, President, Senior Planning Group, www.seniorplanninginc.com

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