Don’t Let Your Children Wait too Long to Get Long-Term Care Insurance

By Steve Elliott | August 22, 2022 | Comments Off on Don’t Let Your Children Wait too Long to Get Long-Term Care Insurance

When John was 56, he had an opportunity to begin a long-term care insurance policy. He didn’t think he needed it. Neither he nor his wife had health problems. He couldn’t imagine either one of them requiring long-term care, at least not for another 20 or more years.

Long-Term Care Insurance Rancho Bernardo CA - Don't Let Your Children Wait too Long to Get Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-Term Care Insurance Rancho Bernardo CA – Don’t Let Your Children Wait too Long to Get Long-Term Care Insurance

“What would be the point in starting this kind of policy now?” John had once asked his wife over dinner. Her reply was a simple shrug. She didn’t see the point, either.

Neither of them saw long-term care insurance the same way they viewed life insurance. They both understood they were mortal, and someday each of them would die. Life insurance would then pay out, so long as they had the right policy and kept up current with their payments.

But long-term care insurance? There was no guarantee either one of them was going to have any type of health issues that require that type of service, and even if they did, they assumed by the time they needed it, long after retirement, Medicaid would step in and cover it.

John learned the hard way about not having long-term care insurance.

When John was 63, he revisited the prospect of long-term care insurance. Even though his wife was still pushing back against the idea, they had started to experience dramatic changes in their health and physical abilities. He reasoned it was only a matter of time before one of them would require some type of extended care.

He filled out an application and submitted it, only to be denied because not only had he recently been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, there was a family history of serious ailments, too.

He went home surprised and suddenly worried. He didn’t know what the future would hold, but so long as he could make it to 67 before he or his wife needed that long-term care, he figured they would be okay.

At 73, John’s wife suffered a stroke.

It was a massive stroke that left her seriously disabled. John struggled for the next couple of years to take care of her, and even though he looked into long-term care options, the only one that Medicaid would cover in their state was nursing home care, but in order for the federal and state governments to cover those expenses, he would have to use all of their available assets and savings first.

He discovered that that also included the equity they had saved up in their house. There was simply no way to do that because it would take several years before he exhausted all that equity.

At that point, there was nothing John could do other than the best he could. But, he began imploring his children and grandchildren that when they got to the right age for long-term care insurance, they should seriously consider it.

He recognized in his 70s that it was the biggest, costliest mistake he and his wife had ever made, and they had been diligent to save for retirement from the earliest days of marriage when they were just 26 and 27.

If you or a loved one are considering Long-Term Care Insurance in Rancho Bernardo CA, please contact Steve Elliott at Capstone Insurance for an honest discussion about your future and your options. Call today (858) 350-3161.

Steve Elliott
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