Long Term Care Insurance
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Long Term Care Insurance
March 2011
Looking for a responsive, knowledgable and honest broker who
specializes in long term care. We are specifically looking
for a policy that meets the California Partnership guidelines.
cld
I highly recommend Breedlove Insurance in Orinda. Sue Breedlove is
very knowledgable about long term care particularly. She loves what
she does and will make sure you are well informed and that she finds
you the best policy to fit your needs. Her website is
www.breedloveinsurance.com. Her # is 925.254.6262.
anon
We used Bruce Goldsmith, and found him to be honest,
reliable and extremely conscientious. He was recommended by
friends who also had a good experience with him. He helped
us sort through the pros and cons of different types and
features of long-term care policies from several companies.
His phone is 510-482-9431. email is bruce.goldsmith@nmfn.com
I can highly recommend Liz Eshleman for long-term care needs.
You may contact her at (510) 528-0505, or cell (510) 710-8643.
Anon.
Hi There.
I bought my long-term care policy from Justin Martello. It
is a partnership policy. He doesn't work for a single
insurance company so he was able to help me shop around and
get the best policy for my needs. He's a CFP in Berkeley
and he started in finance as a long-term care insurance
agent, so he really knows the territory.
His number is 510-549-2525 and his email is
justin@effectiveassets.net
Good Luck!
anonymous
August 2008
Has anyone purchased long-term care insurance through the partnership with
the California Dept of Health Care Services? If so, do you have a particular
insurance broker you recommend? Any advice or suggestions on how to go
about choosing coverage, a company or broker?
Thanks for whatever suggestions you can offer.
Debbie
A woman from my networking group, Constance Young, just
gave a presentation to our group about long-term care
insurance. She described 3 scenarious and explained what
insurance was appropriate in each situation. In one
situation her advice was insurance was not cost effective.
Selling insurance is just part of what Constance does. She
is a financial advisor. Her approach is one of
comprehensive financial planning, incorporating goals,
needs and dreams. She describes financial planning as a
pyramid where insurance is the base, protecting
the ''goose'' who makes investing possible. Even if you
don't buy from her, I highly recommend you speak with her
before you make a purchase. She can be reached at (510)
318-4475.
Reisa
Last year, we worked with Constance Truitt of CLTC Insurance
Services at 415 453-2253 who was able to explain the various
partnership plans available. The State had randomly
''assigned'' us to New York Life and we also met with that
agent, but that plan ended up being more expensive than the
more generic Genworth plan we ended up going with. It's a
lot of money and well worth spending the time to investigate
and understand the choices you have.
steprose
July 2002
Does anyone have any experience with or opinion about long-term
care insurance? Is it a good deal, or a bad idea? I'm
considering buying long-term care insurance for myself because I
do not want to burden my child with the cost of long-term care
in the event that (or when) I'm unable to care for myself. (I'm
a single parent older mom.)
Your input is appreciated. Thanks much!
I'm interested in other responses to the long-term-care
insurance question. I, too, am a single mom (and getting older
every day!), and I decided to get the insurance a few years ago,
since the premium is partly determined by age. Like you, I knew
there was a possibility of becoming an extreme burden on my
child if I were to need this kind of care, and I figured it was
in both our interests for me to get the insurance. If I ever
needed it, it would MORE than pay for itself, and if I didn't
need it, it was still a reasonable price to pay for peace of
mind. I've seen some medicare-only nursing homes, and nobody
would want to be in most of those if they had any choice.
Through PERS, I pay $456 a year for this insurance. At this
rate, if I paid for, say, 30 years, I'd still have paid less
than $14,000 total. If I needed the care at any time, for even
six months, I'd be ahead of the game, since this kind of care is
EXPENSIVE. I'm willing to pay $14,000 over 30 years to know I
wouldn't be warehoused and my child wouldn't be sent to the
poorhouse if I needed long-term care.
Any financial types out there with more/different info?
Anonymous
If you are an UC employee, you may be eligible to participate in
the long-term care insurance that CalPERS offers. I enrolled in
that program out of the same concerns you voiced as an older,
single parent. My cost is about $30/month. The cost depends on
coverage options selected and age. After UC retirement, one can
stay on the insurance. You can learn more about the CalPERS'
plan at this web site:
http://www.calpers.ca.gov/longtermcare/apply/. Looks like the
current deadline for enrolling is July 31. There are other
plans to choose from; I just don't know anything about them.
anon
I am strongly in favor of long-term care insurance. I have had
great anxiety about my own parents ability to care for
themselves -- they did not plan ahead well financially, both
have complex and costly diseases (cancer & diabetes), and I have
concerns about their diminishing abilities to take care of basic
tasks. After helping them move from a house into a condo two
years ago, I immediately signed up for long term insurance
through my work, and picked the most comprehensive, inflation
protected plan. I never want my kids to worry about that!
I did not check out many plans thoroughly...I am a member of Cal
PERS, which offered a good, low cost plan. But the rates were
inexpensive for me (at age 35) and I could lock that price in
forever. If you can afford the premiums, you can get plans which
cover in-home care, not just nursing homes.
I think it's a great idea, and encourage you to do it.
meg
Jan 2002
I am trying to decide about keeping Long Term Care Insurance for my
elderly parent, and I would appreciate any advice from someone who has
had a parent in long term care. The insurance is expensive. My
mother has no assets to speak of, so we don't have it to protect her
finances --- we are carrying it on the theory that she will have
better care in a nursing home with private insurance than with
Medical, if a nursing home should become necessary. She is in her
mid-70s and in excellent health. The tradeoff seems to be: is it
better to have a better level of care in a nursing home later, or is
it better for her to enjoy the money currently going to insurance
while she's young and healthy? (The premium -- which I pay -- would
be a lot of money for her, with her small income from social security,
if I just gave it to her instead of the insurance company.) Since
this is comparing apples and oranges, there may be no right answer. I
have consulted HICAP folks, but frankly speaking the people that I
talked to didn't seem to have any more insight than I do, which is not
much. Part of the question is -- how much better is nursing home care
if you have private insurance versus Medical? Another is: how likely
are we to need it -- what fraction of healthy people in their 70's
eventually need long-term care?
I would really appreciate any thoughts from someone with some
experience with an elderly parent or relative in long term care.
Thank you!
Anonymous
I can't speak to the quality of care issue with private insurance vs.
MediCal, but there is a very useful book that deals with long term care
issues, including the pros and cons of such insurance. It is "Avoiding the
Nursing Home Trap" by Nolo Press, the well-regarded legal self-help press in
Berkeley. You can probably find the book in the library if you don't feel
like buying it. I am thinking about sending copies to both of my parents as
well as my in-laws to give them some useful information and open the door to
discussions of what happens when they get old and need help caring for
themselves (and how will we pay for it). Good luck.
A lot of people don't get to the point of needing a nursing home but
do need help with activities of daily living in their current home
(bathing, dressing grooming, housecleaning, meal prep etc). If your
mother should have a health problem that affects her ability to do
these things then family needs to provide this support or pay someone.
If your mother gets on MediCal (she can own her home but has to live in
it and have less than $2000) the county will pay someone just over
minimum wage to help, which often means not very good service. I
would suggest that you check out the coverage for this service in your
Long Term Care Insurance Plan - it is a service that seniors can use
for years and stay living at home. Be sure that it is not limited to
a short period of time. My grandmother had someone take care of her
in her home for 15 years.
Elizabeth
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