Long-term care services are not necessarily nursing home services, although 40 percent of those who live to the age of 65 will require care at a nursing home. Seventy percent of long-term care services are provided in the home by family members, but these services are also provided in assisted living facilities and in the community.

The amount of coverage you may need can be difficult to predict, but the average person age 65 or older will need three years of long-term care services. Women tend to need care for longer (3.7 years vs. 2.2 years for men). The average cost of care in a nursing home is between $ 75-80,000 yearly. That makes the average 3 year stay cost over $175,000.

Reasons to consider Long-Term Care Coverage:

• Relieve the potential burden on your loved ones, financially and emotionally.
• Make sure you receive quality care and have the option to choose who cares for you
• Help maintain your independence
• Protect the assets that you have worked so hard to build

Sources:
*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What is Long Term? 2009. http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/static/home.asp
* The Metlife Market Survey of Adult Day Services & Home Care Costs, September 2008. http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/-2008-nhal-costs.pdf

Types of Life Insurance:

Term and Whole Life policies are the two major types of Life Insurance. A term policy is designed to be a low-cost option with basic coverage in the event of your death. Term policies are available for specific amounts of time (10, 20, or 30 years) and assuming all premiums have been paid on time will provide a death benefit to your beneficiaries if you pass away within the specific term that you have chosen. A term policy does not accumulate any cash value making it an affordable option for life insurance coverage. Whole Life insurance policies do not have a term associated with them; they will provide coverage throughout your entire lifetime. Another notable difference in the two policy types is that Whole Life policies do accumulate a cash value. As long as the premium has always been paid on time the policy can be cashed out before your death if the need arises.

*Your contract has a minimum guaranteed contract value.

*You can recieve interest credits that are linked to the performance of an external market index or a fixed interest rate.

*Annuities provide the advantage of a tax-deferred interest accumalation. You don’t pay taxes on the growth

Basic benefits covered by Medicare Parts A and B include the following:

• Hospitalization: Part A co-insurance plus coverage for 365 additional days after Medicare benefits end
• Medical expenses: Part B co-insurance (generally 20 percent of Medicare-approved expenses) or, in case of hospital outpatient department services under a prospective payment system, the applicable co-payment
• Blood: First three pints of blood each year

Additional benefits that may be included depending on the standardized plan are:

• Skilled Nursing
• Medicare Part A and B deductibles
• Foreign travel emergency
• At-home recovery