Did You Know…
| > | About one-third of individuals turning 65 in 2010 will need at least three months of nursing home care, 24% more than a year, and 9% more than five years. (Source: What Is the Distribution of Lifetime Health Care Costs from Age 65?, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, March 2010) |
| > | About 71% of nursing home residents are women. (Source: CDC Vital and Health Statistics, Series 13, No. 167, June 2009) |
| > | The national average daily rate in 2011 for a private room in a nursing home was $239, an increase of 4.4% from 2010. (Source: 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs) |
| > | The average length of a nursing home stay is 835 days. (Source: CDC Vital and Health Statistics, Series 13, No. 167, June 2009) |
| > | At an average daily rate of $239, an average nursing home stay of 835 days currently costs almost $200,000 making it virtually unaffordable for many Americans. |
| > | Medicare does not pay for long-term care services, as explained by the Social Security Administration: “About Social Security and Medicare… Social Security pays retirement, disability, family and survivors benefits. Medicare, a separate program run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, helps pay for inpatient hospital care, nursing care, doctors’ fees, drugs, and other medical services and supplies to people age 65 and older, as well as to people who have been receiving Social Security disability benefits for two years or more. Medicare does not pay for long-term care, so you may want to consider options for private insurance (emphasis added).” |
Without proper planning, a serious accident or illness could rob you of your financial independence.
Whether purchased for yourself, your spouse or for an aging parent, long-term care insurance can help protect assets accumulated over a lifetime from the ravages of long-term care costs.
For the complete NFS December Financial Facts Newsletter, click here
