How much does long term care cost?
Many people ask this question when considering whether or not to buy long term care insurance – and the truth is that long term care costs can vary widely.
Long term care can cost anywhere from nothing per year to over tens of thousands of dollars every year.
How much does long term care insurance cost?
Long term care insurance costs also differ widely between carriers, your age, your health and what types of long term care coverage that you want. Generally speaking, the general range for long term care insurance costs are between $100 per month and $10,000 per month.
That is a wide range!
This is why it is more important than ever to do your homework. When long term care insurance costs can differ that much in costs, it is important to get multiple quotes from competing long term care insurance companies.
Features to consider when buying long term care insurance:
Stability of the insurer - make sure the long term care insurance company has been around and has an “A” rating. Also, make sure that the long term care insurance company has the ability to do business in your state.
What kind of care to get - be sure to get a policy that has flexibility in how you apply the policy benefits. This type of plan is also sometimes an “alternate plan of care” policy. This type of plan would allow you to choose between an assisted living facility, an adult day care center, home care or a nursing home.
Be sure you know what is covered — carefully review the policy to find out which of these items are covered:
- Skilled nursing care
- Custodial care
- Home health aides
Find out what conditions are covered — be sure to ask if the long-term-care insurance policy that you are considering covers specific conditions that you may already have. For example, if you already have Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s be sure to check if the policy covers your specific condition.
Find out what the maximum daily benefit is for your long term care insurance policy — The higher the maximum daily benefit, the higher the cost of the long term care insurance policy. Generally speaking, maximum daily benefit is usually in the $50 to $300 range.
How long will your benefit period last? The average stay in a nursing home is 2.5 years. You can get coverage for shorter than this, for this long or even longer — but the longer that you have coverage, the more expensive your long term care insurance policy will be. Generally speaking you can select any number of years (2,3,4,5,unlimited) that the long term care insurance policy will insure you for – but the higher number of years, the more the long term care insurance policy will cost.
By answering these simple questions about long term care insurance, you are on the right track to knowing what you want to know before making a purchase. Long term care is more popular than ever – and it is important that you do your research and choose between all of the different long term care policies available.
Get free quotes from top companies on long term care insurance now!