Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Baby Boomer's Misconceptions About Long Term Care
This week, Nov 5 through Nov 11, is Long Term Care Awareness Week...
Long term care (LTC) is defined by Medicare.gov as “a variety of services that includes medical and non-medical care to people who have a chronic illness or disability.” LTC also includes nursing home care. People over 65 years old have a 40 percent chance of going into a nursing home, and 10 percent of those who do will stay for five years or longer.
But many baby boomers soon headed toward retirement have some misconceptions about insurance coverage for long term care. A survey conducted by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) found that one in four Baby Boomers think they have insurance coverage for long term care, when they actually do not.
LTC can be very expensive, costing as much as $6,266 for a month’s stay in a nursing home or $19 an hour for an in-home aide, according to AARP.
The survey’s results also found that 54 percent of Baby Boomers believe Medicare will cover all LTC expenses. But Medicare will only cover a limited amount of long term care, and only after most assets are completely spent, said a press release on PRNewswire.
Another 44 percent believe that other insurance will cover LTC — but most plans don’t provide extra coverage for extensive long term care.
“Baby Boomers believe they have more coverage than they actually do, giving them a false feeling of financial preparedness to handle long-term care costs,” said Senior Vice President of StrategyOne, Robert Moran.
“This should be a wake-up call to Baby Boomers. They aren’t factoring expenses for long-term care into their retirement planning and are missing an opportunity to protect themselves,” said AHIP President, Karen Ignagni.
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