Nursing Homes and Insurance

Nursing Home care today can cost as much as $10,000 dollars a month depending on where in the U.S. that you live. These rising nursing home costs make financial planning for nursing home care and interest in purchasing nursing home insurance more popular than ever. Medicare does not cover Nursing home care. Medicaid will cover nursing home care, but spending down of assets may be necessary to qualify for it.

What you need to know

Purchasing nursing home Insurance or as it is more commonly called long-term care can be tricky. Nursing home insurance is no different from any other insurance, the earlier you purchase nursing home insurance, the cheaper it is. The issues with this are:

• Will the company your purchase nursing home insurance when you are 40 still be around in 30 to 40 years when you need it.
• How do you choose a reputable company?
• When is the best time to purchase nursing home insurance?

The nursing home insurance industry is young and there have been problems with companies that do not pay benefits after a policyholder has paid premiums. These nursing home insurance companies put up obstacles to making claims at the very time the policyholder needs coverage most. Before purchasing nursing home coverage, you should:

• Investigate the background of the company offering the insurance, check the company’s insurance rating.
• Contact your state insurance commission to see how nursing home insurance companies are rated in your area or to see if policyholders have had difficulty making claims.
• Talk with family and friends who may have purchased such policy to see if they have recommendations, on which nursing home insurance company to choose based on their experiences.
• Based on your family needs, determine what is the best age to for you to buy nursing home insurance.
• Make nursing home insurance only part of your financial plan for your retirement years.