Chester County Medicine Winter 2019 - 16

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Funding Options for Long-Term Care
Self-pay | Self-pay may be the most obvious choice,
but it's not cheap and may not be affordable for
longer-term needs. With prices ranging from $21 per
hour for homemaker services and home health aides,
to day rates of $123 in assisted living facilities, to more
than $7000 per month for semi-private nursing home
care, self-pay may not be the most appealing option.

How Much Do You
Asking the
important questions...
By: Joseph Leary, CFA®, MBA, CFP®, CPA, and Jeremiah Sensenig,
financial advisors with MassMutual Greater Philadelphia.

Government benefits | Despite what many think,
Medicare will pay for long-term care. While Medicare
covers some home and nursing home care, it is truly
for rehabilitation purposes and, therefore, not categorized as long-term coverage.
Traditional long-term care insurance | Traditional
long-term care (LTC) insurance has been in existence
for decades. It is not as cost-effective as originally
thought due to its many limitations. It's typically
written to cover specific, and potential, long-term care
needs, however, unless it's broadly written, it may not
provide any benefits should you ever need longterm care.
Combined life insurance with long-term care
benefits | A strategic approach being utilized with
larger frequency is a combined life insurance policy
with long-term care benefits. These may have similar
features to an LTC (e.g., inflation protection, varying
elimination periods, and more), but would provide a
tax-free death benefit to beneficiaries should the policy
holder pass away prematurely.
Combined annuity with long-term care benefits |
Similar to option 4, a combined annuity/long-term care
policy might provide a higher dollar amount or greater
flexibility surrounding the tax-free death benefit.
Life settlement | Regardless of whether you own a
term or permanent life insurance policy, you may be
able to convert it into a long-term care benefit. The
value of your current life insurance policy could be
used as leverage to secure long-term care by assigning
beneficiary rights depending upon your individual
situation. It is suggested that you contact a competent
financial adviser well-versed in long-term care to help
you navigate through the many choices to funding
long-term care. *

16 CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine | WINTER 2019

The need for long-term care can happen to anyone... at any
time. It could be you, your spouse or partner, a parent, or
even a sibling. The need for long-term care may result from
being chronically ill, from a severe cognitive impairment
or something as unexpected as an accident or injury.
What is long-term care?
Long-term care is a variety of services and supports to help meet
personal care needs over an extended period of time. Long-term care
commonly involves non-skilled personal care assistance, such as help
performing everyday Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), which are:
bathing, dressing, using the toilet, transferring (to or from bed or chair),
caring for incontinence and eating. Long-term care services may help
you maximize your independence and functioning at a time when you
are unable to be fully independent.

Where is long-term care provided?
Long-term care may take place at home or in assisted living facilities
and it can also be provided in a community setting, in a nursing home or
through hospice services. You may initially receive assistance at home or in
community-based settings before moving into more intensive care settings.
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Chester County Medicine Winter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chester County Medicine Winter 2019
