Arizona Long Term Care Coverage
Posted by Rachel Romero on Thu, Oct 21, 2010 @ 05:45 PM
One of my major focus as an independent health and life insurance agent is going to be finding the best Long Term Care coverages out there and start selling them in the Arizona and California markets.
It is no secret - there are 78 million baby boomers moving into their senior years. Some 70 percent of Americans who reach 65 will eventually require help with daily activities like dressing and feeding themselves, according to studies, and 20 percent will require assistance for more than five years.
Americans must basically fend for themselves in figuring out how to meet these expenses, unlike folks in Japan and much of Europe, where government-managed long-term care insurance is affordable and mandatory. ...
In this country, financing relies most heavily on the joint federal-state Medicaid program, which pays more than 40 percent of total long-term care spending, according to the Scan Foundation, and requires individuals to impoverish themselves to qualify.
A report by America's Health Insurance plans found that "Medicaid spending for long-term care is projected to total more than $3.7 trillion from 2008 to 2028 ... and to grow at a faster rate than both overall health care spending and the U.S. gross domestic product. And that surge in spending will only exacerbate state and federal budget woes" (Greenwald, 10/20).
We need to find real solutions. It is going to require us to pay for Long Term Care coverages to protect ourselves and cover our needs for the future. This idea of becoming destitute to qualify for Medicare is ridiculous. And the burden that the aging population is putting our their children is extraordinary. Planning must be done!