Tuesday, October 23, 2012

New Century Spine Centers Shows Astounding Statistics About Long Term Care Needs

By Michael Pritsker


Studies conducted by the Center for Aging Research and Education reveals only seven percent of American baby boomers have the necessary insurance coverage to cover the long term health care needs that are necessary in their future. That lack of insurance can end up in people risking their accumulated assets they've spent a lifetime building. It can also affect their choice of where they receive care and what care they receive. It can also affect the doctors they choose.

Getting yourself ready for long term care is vitally important for many individuals. It is dissimilar from conventional medical care. Long term care is generally expected to last at least ninety days. It may also include custodial care. This is assistance with activities of daily living. These are activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, getting to the bathroom and just moving around. This may be at someone's home or in a community-based facility.

The Agency for Health Care Policy and research did an in depth study. This study stated that some 42 percent of Americans who reach the age of 70 can expect to require some form of long term care during the remainder of their lives. And if they don't have the proper insurance, then they may not be able to afford it. In other cases where nursing home care is required, with the cost of a year in a nursing home averaging $54,900 per year nationwide, it won't take long for most people to deplete their assets accumulated over a lifetime to cover the cost. Bills can be huge, and hourly fees can range from $20 per hour and up. Without the proper insurance, people may not be able to afford this coverage.

Often times people assume that if they need assisted living that the government will take care of them. This is unfortunate because many times it won't. Medicare only pays for a limited time for a stay at a nursing home. And this is after a qualifying hospital stay. There are also co pays that are the responsibility of the recipient after a certain amount of days. There is a point though that you may be responsible for the entire cost. And medical is not always available. Sometimes you have to exhaust all your personal resources before getting medical coverage. And don't expect the government to help much with newer forms of long term care. Though some states pay for some assisted living, the programs are small, covering very few people. Medicare covers only limited home care. Seniors are increasingly paying their long term care bills out of their own pocket because they lack coverage or because they didn't know that they didn't have coverage.

These numbers undercover how vital it is that people plan appropriately for their long term care needs, and helps illustrate how valuable long term care insurance can be. Equally important to many are the other benefits long term care insurance may provide. Instead of letting a government program decide where care to provide, long term care insurance may provide the funds an individual needs to make their own choice about where they receive covered care. Long term care insurance may help provide the funds to help pay for that care, while also helping ensure that the responsibility for providing care will not fall to their family. These choices may also help preserve financial independence and dignity, and those can be priceless.

To read more about how to protect your health, visit New Century Spine Centers in San Diego. On their website you'll find tons of useful information about healthcare, chiropractic, alternative medicine, and more.




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