Long Term Care Insurance

American Association of Long Term Care Insurance publishes a comprehensive women's guide to long term care insurance protection. The guide takes a comprehensive lookg at issues and options facing women with spouses and women living alone.

The eight-page booklet available to long term care insurance and financial professionals specifically addresses the issues and options facing women.

Nearly half of individuals purchasing asset-based long term care insurance in 2008 were under age 65 according to the first national study of buyers. Two thirds (66%) of purchasers were women and the average single premium paid was just under $71,000 ($70,975).

The largest long term care insurance claims reach $1 million dollar mark. One in ten LTC insurance claims begins before age 70. Interestingly, women represent nearly 2/3 of all long term insurance claims.

In the United States today, the options for paying for health care are numerous. For some, their workplace pays all the bills. (That's a company I want to work for!) For most workers though, health insurance costs are split between employer and employee. And for those who work on their own, or don't have an employer, they foot the health bills themselves. If a person can't afford health care, or chooses not to buy it, they use hospital emergency rooms as their first line of defense.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance says survey findings show that more younger people are buying long term care insurance due to the more affordable cost-sharing approach of LTC insurance.

Some 400,000 individuals purchased long-term care insurance protection in 2008 according to a just-released report. The overwhelming majority (84%) of individual buyers in 2008 were younger than age 65 and three-fourths (76%) selected a more affordable approach to this protection by opting for coverage for a specific number of years.

Anyone who has gone through finding a long-term care facility for their loved one knows how difficult is to search for and find a care facility such as a nursing home or assisted living.

If you've put off getting long term care insurance, should you put it off a bit longer, anticipating the new administration's health plan? "I wouldn't advise it," says Denise Gott, Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners LLC (LTCFP), one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies. "Long term care has never been a part of any candidate's overall health care reform proposal, and likely never will be."

Social Security Statement, unread by many people, recommends private Long Term Care Insurance (LTC). The statement says "Medicare does not pay for long term care, so you may want to consider options for private insurance."

Medicare is not long term care insurance.

Although it is optional, every state provides a long-term care benefit through its Medicaid program--and not just to the poor. Medicaid is paying for the long-term care of a growing number of middle-income seniors, and this is one of the fastest-growing areas of state spending.

Planning for long-term care requires financial savvy when choosing long term care insurance coverage, writes Bills.com.

Americans are living longer than ever before, reaching a new life expectancy of more than 78 years and making long-term care insurance a valuable investment, especially for those who heed Bills.com president Ethan Ewing's seven things to know before buying.