Why Buy Long Term Care Insurance? 

1. Maintain your independence.  People who are unable to pay for their own long term care expenses must first spend down their assets before they can qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid will not allow you the choice of home care or assisted living facility, instead it will be nursing home care in a Medicaid approved nursing home. Another problem is Medicaid insurance typically only pays for a semiprivate room and not all nursing homes accept Medicaid patients.  Your long term care insurance policy gives you more choices and more importantly a plan of action. You can choose to be cared for in your own home, in an assisted living facility, adult day care, or a nursing home.

2. Protects your Assets and Spouse with Long Term Care Insurance.  Married couples who will need long term care must consider the burden they will place on their spouse. Your spouse may be forced to into taking care of you and many times their health will begin to deteriorate.  If you pay out of pocket for care you may leave your spouse with no assets and no safety-net.  Smart Money has some insightful insights when it comes to protecting your nest-egg which can be found in an article here. 

3. Prevents being a burden on your children.  Most kids will take care of their parents if need be...but ask your self the tough question, would you want you son giving you a sponge bath?  Having long term care insurance allows you to spend quality time with your kids while the aid takes care you your person needs.

4. Long Term Care Insurance gives you Peace of Mind.  For folks who are single or have a limited support system, long term care insurance will makes sure that you are taken care of.  Protect your assets and nest egg. The right Long Term Care Insurance policy will preserve your assets from the high cost of long-term care.

Who Should Consider Buying Long-Term Care Insurance?

If you are over 45 years old and have assets to protect, you should be researching and comparing different long term care insurance companies right now. If your family has a history of illnesses such as Alzheimer's, cancer, brittle bones, cardiac, stroke, etc. you should especially plan for long term care insurance. It is also very imperative to apply for long term care insurance while you are still healthy because once you get sick or injured no long term care insurance companies will insure you at that point you would be left paying for long term care out of your own pockets.

Long Term Care Insurance policies are guaranteed renewable, that phrase is an insurance lingo that basically means as long as you pay the premiums for your policy you have coverage.  You cannot be cancelled by the insurance company as long as you pay your premiums. The main reason to plan ahead for long term care is the premiums are based on your age when you buy your long term care insurance policy and typically your premiums will remain the same for life.