With the Obama administration’s recent decision to halt the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, the issue of long-term care is more important than ever. CLASS provided basic long-term care insurance at an affordable cost.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, about 70 percent of individuals age 65 and older will require some type of long-term care services during their lifetimes. Women are more at risk than men, with 79 percent of women turning 65 and needing some long-term care.

Most people do not understand why long term care insurance is needed and only a small percentage has purchased coverage. They do not see long term care as something to plan for in advance. Either they deny that they will need long-term care or they believe, incorrectly, that Social Security, Medicare, or their existing health insurance will cover the costs.

Medical vs. Nonmedical LTC
Long-term care encompasses many levels of assistance and support. These include both medical and nonmedical care. Though long-term care may include advanced medical care, it often consists simply of hands-on assistance by others.

Medical long-term care might include medical support services for people with chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, or Alzheimer's disease. Nonmedical long-term care is designed to assist people with daily tasks such as bathing, eating, dressing, and similar activities. Therefore, long-term care services can vary from helping a 50-year-old stroke victim relearn grooming skills to providing 24-hour skilled nursing care for a 90-year old suffering kidney failure.                                                                                                            

In other words, long-term care
helps to meet both health and personal needs. Whenever a chronic condition, trauma, or illness limits an individual’s ability to carry out basic tasks of self care, long-term care is necessary.

The concept of “squaring the curve” focuses on the ideal lifespan of an older adult. In this lifespan, an individual stays healthy as long as possible with all the aging-related illnesses and causes of death compressed into just a few years at the end of life. While this may feel like an unattainable concept, proper planning in later life can make it a reasonable goal.

How Do You Square the Curve?
From Betty White to Tony Bennett to your own relatives, we all know people who continue working and remain healthy until late in life. Is it genes or lifestyle?

Most experts agree genes are important, but the cumulative effects of what we do and don’t do have the greater impact in later life. Eating, exercise, memory challenges, preventive care, and interacting with others in a supportive environment can all attribute to a long, healthy life.

The challenge for the health care industry is adding healthy years to a life instead of years of decline and dependency. While working toward the squaring of the curve, older adults need to anticipate and plan for the costs of health care during those additional years of life.

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The later life planning team of Marca Life Planning can estimate the personal and financial costs of living to 100. Manage longevity risks and the challenges of chronic conditions such as frailty, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and heart disease.

 

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creating your Later Life Plan!