Florida Long-Term Care Insurance

Chances are you’ll need some help taking care of yourself in your later years. How are you going to pay for it?

Buying Florida long-term care insurance is one way. Long-term care refers to a host of services that aren’t covered by regular health insurance. These include assistance with routine daily activities, like bathing, dressing, or getting in and out of bed.

What is Long Term Care?

Most long-term care is not medical care, but assistance with the basic personal tasks of everyday life. It is often defined by assistance with the “activities of daily living” (ADL), which can be anything from dressing and eating, to moving around and going to the bathroom.

Long term care insurance is different. You know you will get old, and you know you will probably need some care. Plus, long term care policies have varying benefit periods, waiting times and premium costs associated with them.

A long-term care policy helps cover the costs of that care when you have a chronic medical condition, a disability or a disorder such as Alzheimer’s. Most policies will reimburse you for the care given in a variety of places. These include your home, a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or an adult daycare center.

Is It Necessary?

Income is the main factor in whether you need an LTC policy. If you have or are projected to have net savings of $1M plus, you probably can pay for own care. If you make less $22K a year, long term care insurance is out of your reach. But you will probably qualify for medicare and Medicaid services.

Premiums for LTC policies average $2,700 a year, according to LifePlans, an industry research firm. That puts the coverage out of reach for many Americans. However, discounts for couples are common, typically 30 percent off the price of policies bought separately.

If you’re in your mid-50s to mid-60s, considering long-term care costs is an important part of any long-range financial plan. If you already have a debilitating condition, you won’t qualify for a long-term care policy.

Click the table graphic to the right and see the 2019 Florida LTC Costs by region.

Resources

<<Florida Life Insurance