This Florida Long Term Care Insurance Review looks at how to plan for long-term care in the Sunshine State. The following are the main points of this article:
Florida Long Term Care Planning
A important aspect of retirement planning is anticipating potential long-term care demands. Many people have personal experience with a family member who need long-term care. This story emphasizes the financial and emotional strain that comes with needing long-term care.
Long-term care insurance can help you safeguard your retirement savings. Plus, knowing you can cover the cost of long-term care if you need it in the future provides you piece of mind. A long-term care plan also shields your loved ones from having to care for you. It also permits you to choose where you will receive any necessary care in the future.
Who Needs Long Term Care?
A person turning 65 today has a 70% likelihood of requiring long-term care at some point during their lives. While one-third of people may never require long-term care, 20% will require it for more than five years. The average time that people require long-term care services is three years. 1
At 2020 prices ($117,804 per year), the average cost of three years of long-term care in Florida is $353,412 ($117,804 per year). By 2040, the cost is expected to be $638,301 ($212,767 per year). 2
And it’s not just the elderly who require long-term care. Over 35% of those getting long-term care services are between the ages of 18 and 64.3.
Does Medicare Cover Long Term Care?
Medicare is a government health-insurance program for persons over the age of 65, as well as some disabled people under the age of 65. However, most long-term care services are not covered by Medicare. Custodial care, which accounts for more than 90% of long-term care, is not covered by Medicare.
When someone need assistance with walking, bathing, eating, dressing, or using the toilet, this is an example of custodial care. When a person has a physical handicap as a result of a stroke, they require the most custodial care. Or because of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, which causes cognitive impairment. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that Medicare will cover your long-term care expenses. It isn’t the case.
When Should You Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
We advocate purchasing long-term care insurance in your fifties or early sixties, as do most counselors. The following are the main grounds for this recommendation:
- Even while you’ll have to pay premiums for a longer period of time, you’ll usually end up paying less overall than someone who buys at a later age.
As a result, waiting virtually never pays off. And you’re uninsured while you’re waiting. You’ll have to pay out of pocket if you have an accident or become unwell and require long-term care.
Long Term Care Insurance Options
Long-term care costs in Florida are covered by two forms of insurance. And each form of policy has its own set of benefits. More information can be obtained from one of our licensed specialists to assist you in determining which option is best for you.
Traditional Long Term Care Insurance
You pay an annual premium, and the policy covers for long-term care if you require it due to a cognitive or physical handicap. Traditional long-term care insurance policies account for roughly half of all long-term care insurance policies sold.
Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance
A hybrid long-term care insurance policy includes the advantages of both life insurance and long-term care insurance. A hybrid long-term care insurance coverage can be purchased with a single lump-sum payment or over a predetermined length of time.
If long-term care is never required, the coverage functions similarly to a standard life insurance policy. When you die, it will pay a death benefit to your beneficiary. Furthermore, the death benefit is frequently equal to the premium paid for the coverage. However, if you require long-term care, the amount of money available can often exceed the death benefit or long-term care annuity value, providing significant value for your premium dollars.
Florida Long Term Care Costs
This information about Florida long-term care costs can assist you in determining how much coverage you require. It also compares the prices of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home care. The cost of long-term care in Florida in 2020 is shown below. 2
Is 70 too old to buy long term care insurance?
Long-term care insurance is available to people of any age. While insurance firms may advise people to get policies as early as 40 years old, Consumer Reports advises people to wait until they are 60 years old. Waiting too long to purchase a policy can result in exorbitant premiums.
Does Medicare cover long term care in Florida?
Long-term care is not covered by Medicare if it is the sole type of care you require. Non-covered services, including as most long-term care, are entirely your responsibility. Long-term care is a collection of services and resources to help you with your personal care needs.
How much does a nursing home cost per month in Florida?
According to the Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2020, a semi-private room in a nursing home in Florida costs $8,669 per month. Florida is the most expensive nursing home care choice when compared to neighboring states and the entire country. The national average for nursing home care is $7,756 per month, which is more than $900 less than Florida’s. Alabama has a monthly average nursing home cost of $6,540, which is over $2,000 less than Florida. The cost of living in Georgia is also less expensive, at $6,722 per month.
At what age should you consider purchasing a long-term care policy?
According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, people over the age of 70 make more than 95% of long-term care insurance claims, and approximately 7 out of 10 claims are filed beyond age 81.
According to Genworth’s long-term care cost calculator, if you live in New Jersey and wait until you’re 70 to buy a policy that pays $250 per day for a private room in a nursing home for up to two years, your monthly premium will more than double (about 130 percent of the bill for someone buying at age 50).
If a male alone purchased a policy at the age of 50, the premium to get $182,500 in covered benefits for a claim at the age of 79 the average age for filing a claim, according to the long-term care insurance group would be $56,278, based on a monthly premium of $161.72. Waiting until you’re 70 would cost you $370.88 every month.
When a woman isn’t in a relationship, she pays more at every stage of her life – as little as $43 more a month at 50 and as much as $145 more at 70.
Couples of the same age, regardless of gender, have rates that are less than double those of a man alone.
And, despite the fact that a single New Jersey man’s total premium outlay from age 70 to 79 would be nearly $16,000 less, at $40,055, he risks being priced out of the market due to the higher premium. By waiting until they are 70, everyone increases their chances of being turned down for insurance due to bad health.
year window
According to financial consultants, the best age to shop for a long-term care policy is between 60 and 65, providing you’re still in excellent health and eligible for coverage. Couples may wish to look back five years.
“The ideal time to get long-term care insurance would be in your early 60s,” says Diahann Lassus, cofounder of New Providence, New Jersey-based wealth management firm Lassus Wherley. “If your health is OK and you don’t have hereditary problems that insurance companies don’t like, the ideal time to get long-term care insurance would be in your early 60s,” she says.
Why? You are neither too young nor too old. A winning mix of a still-affordable monthly premium and a total premium savings is a winning combo.
According to Genworth’s cost calculator, if a single man in New Jersey gets a long-term care policy at 60 instead of 50, his monthly premium will increase by only $35 per month, but he will save $11,540 in premiums through age 79. If he waits until he’s 65, his monthly premium would rise to $239.20, but his total premiums will drop by $4,552.
What is the difference between nursing home and long-term care?
Instead of going home after being discharged from the hospital, a patient may be placed to a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). A SNF provides more comprehensive care than an extended care facility (sometimes known as a nursing home), and Medicare pays significantly more for these services. While long-term care is regarded as helpful, skilled nursing is intended to help a patient rehabilitate so that he can return home as soon as feasible. Both of these services can be provided in the same facility, but they are very different forms of care and are normally provided in different halls or on different sides of the structure.
Who qualifies for long-term care in Florida?
The Medicaid Long-Term Care Waiver’s objective is to offer services to qualified individuals aged 18 and up who require long-term care and supports, such as those who have cystic fibrosis, AIDS, or a traumatic brain or spinal cord damage. The Long-Term Care Waiver is intended to delay or prevent institutionalization while allowing waiver beneficiaries to maintain their health at home and in the community. Individuals in the program may also get care in a nursing home.
This program reimburses Medicaid for over two dozen home and community-based services, as well as nursing facility services.
Eligibility
- 18 years of age or older AND in need of nursing facility care AND eligible for Medicaid due to a handicap
- 18 years of age or older, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, and receiving hospital care.
Can a nursing home take your house in Florida?
Clients frequently worry about what will happen if they are admitted to a long-term skilled care facility. Fears can range from realistic financial concerns, such as whether their retirement funds will be sufficient to cover the bill or whether they will become a financial burden on their children, to more insidious fears, such as abuse or the loss of personal autonomy. “Will the nursing home take my house?” is one of the most common concerns. No, is the quick response. A nursing facility does not accept residences. However, in other cases, selling the house may be the only way to raise the finances necessary to pay for the care required. Fortunately, there are local senior law experts in Florida who understand how to prevent this.
When seniors are accepted to nursing homes, they and their families often rush to complete application forms, permission forms, and maybe generate powers of attorney at the facility. There is usually a deluge of paperwork and a slew of staff personnel detailing rights and duties. The new resident’s finance representative or admissions team will usually ask if he or she intends to use public assistance (such as Medicaid) or pay using own funds (i.e. private pay). If the resident pays with his or her own money, he or she might expect a large monthly payment. Few people want to use their children’s inheritance to pay for a nursing home. As a result, Medicaid applications are frequently submitted. To qualify, however, one must meet a means test, which requires a single person to have less than $2,000 in total assets and married couples to have less than $3,000 in total assets.
Because a person must have less than $2,000 in assets to qualify for Medicaid, owning a property with any equity above that level will normally disqualify most people. If the person does not have enough liquid cash, such as savings or retirement accounts, to repay the bill, selling the residence may be the only option. So, while the cost of a nursing home may cause you to lose your home, it does not take it away directly.
Advance planning, like everything else in life, is preferable to reacting to a crisis as it comes. It’s always a good idea to start thinking about a nursing home placement well ahead of time. If you or a loved one suspects that a nursing home is in your or a loved one’s future, you should see an elder law expert who can help you prepare an estate plan to avoid losing precious assets and retirement savings. Married couples have a lot of choices. If one spouse is in the nursing home while the other stays at home, the nursing home spouse may transfer a significant amount of money and assets to the spouse who is still living in the community, and there are often means to protect the home as well. Nonetheless, speaking with a Florida elder law attorney at the Millhorn Elder Law Planning Group as soon as possible is your best bet for maintaining your house, even if you are placed in a nursing home.