Medicare is not sufficient for most Seniors, but Long Term Care Insurance can help fill the gaps

There is a dirty, little secret that the government via its Medicare program won’t tell you. Medicare simply isn't sufficient to cover the basic needs of most American seniors. Many older Americans find themselves left out in the cold when they need long-term care or care that is non-medical and relates to the activities of daily living such as bathing and eating. Medicare only pays for nursing home care when the person was hospitalized for at least 3 days in the previous 30 days and require “skilled care” and even then for only 100 days per incident. So, many seniors are left to foot the bill from there if they don’t have an important form of insurance called Long Term Care Insurance. There are several other “dirty secrets” in the Medicare program, as it relates to care of seniors.

The care is far from 5-star. Depending on the State you live, you’ll receive sub-optimal care via Medicare-approved facilities and services compared to those available to privately-insured via a private Long Term Care Insurance policy. Recent financial turmoil has meant cutbacks in many States further exacerbating the decline in quality of care and what’s covered. Trusting your retirement years to the government can mean sub-standard care for only a limited period of time unless you spend down all of your savings and assets in order to qualify for Medicaid and even then, the care is often terribly insufficient in most States. This should be a last resort, not a frontline strategy to tackle your future long-term care needs.

Even if Medicare does cover some aspects of long-term care, it won’t cover everything. And, it’s very difficult to qualify for even the small portion that they do cover. You must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be homebound as instructed by your doctor that it’s too difficult to leave or your condition mandates it
• You require skilled care, speech therapy, physical therapy or other form of care
• Be getting regular medical care under supervision from a doctor under a specific regime

And, even if you meet all of these requirements, Medicare will never cover meal delivery, laundry and house cleaning and in almost all cases it won’t cover bathing, eating and other long-term care services. This gap in Medicare services can be financially devastating to those who don’t have Long Term Care Insurance and hope to rely on the government to care for them in their old age.

The smart move is to take matters into your own hands and purchase a private, Long Term Care Insurance policy to meet your future long-term care needs. At LTC Tree, we’ve helped thousands of Americans make sound decisions for their future, long term care needs. We can help you navigate the many choices in Long Term Care Insurance plans and help you insure that you live out your retirement years on your terms without the need for substandard government assistance. Simply fill out this form to get started. Thanks for reading today's blog. We really appreciate it.