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Frequently Asked Questions
Long Term Care
What is long-term care?
Long-term care is the help you need if you are unable to care for yourself because of advancing age, a long illness or disability or cognitive impairment like Alzheimer's disease. It may be provided in a nursing home, at home or in the community. This type of care can range from help with routine activities like eating or dressing to 24-hour care by skilled medical personnel.
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How much does long-term care cost?
Long-term care can be very expensive. Nursing home care averages $70,000 per year, for a semi-private room and $78,000 for a private room but can reach as much as $100,000 a year. According to the MetLife Mature Markets Institute numbers for 2008, these numbers are expected to double in 15 years. Home Care is less expensive than nursing home care, but still can run $36,000 a year and up. These high costs can very quickly exhaust hard-earned assets of a lifetime.
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Am I at risk?
As much as we'd all like to believe otherwise, long-term care is a statistically significant risk. In fact, it is the greatest uninsured risk facing those 65 and over today. Consider the following:The risk of a catastrophic fire in your home is 1 in 1,200.
The risk of a serious car accident is 1 in 240.
The risk of needing long-term care after age 65 is 3 in 5.
The average duration of long-term care is about 2.6 years.
Aren't I already covered?Most people think the costs of long-term care are covered by Medicare, Medicare Supplement, or other health insurance. But nothing could be further from the truth. Medicare and these policies were designed to cover acute medical care and do virtually nothing to pay for long-term care. Medicaid will not cover long-term care unless you have depleted your assets to federal and/or state poverty levels. What's more, tough new rules make it more difficult to preserve your assets for your heirs and still qualify for government assistance.
Major Medical Coverage
Who is eligible for coverage?
Coverage is available to member, spouse, and children. Coverage is also available for employees. Call 1-866-860-1989 with your questions.
Long Term Care
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