Can You Curb the High Cost of Caregiving?

One of the most frequent questions we receive from clients in New York is whether they should purchase long-term care insurance. In New York State, there are currently only 8 insurance companies issuing long-term care insurance policies. Compare this to 2005, when 25 companies issued policies in New York, and you will get a sense of the trends in that industry, and just how much the market has changed.

A recent issue of Barron's, a weekly publication primarily aimed at providing investment advice, took an honest look at the industry in a series of feature articles. How to Curb the Cost of Caregiving takes an in-depth look at the various points where an individual is likely to need long-term care services, and the manner those services are accessed. The article provides specific advice for each phase of long-term care, perhaps the best of which is to seek out a geriatric care manager to help navigate the process.

A Word on Long-Term Care Insurance provides wholistic advice for individuals considering long-term care insurance and advises them to consider it as only a part of their overall long-term care and asset protection planning. The reality is that if you have assets between $250,000 and $1.5 million, long-term care insurance can act as a nice safety net, when combined with Medicaid Trust planning, protecting your assets and preserving them for legacy planning for your family. The article also introduces the idea of a hybrid whole-life insurance policy with additional coverage for long-term care insurance. These products are in much higher demand than traditional long-term care insurance policies, because they provide a death benefit if long-term care services are never needed.

Finally, The Hidden Costs of Caregiving provides more practical advice for those navigating the long-term care minefield and some very useful strategies for keeping out-of-pocket costs down for those services not covered by insurance.

It is truly fascinating that a newspaper like Barron's, which prides itself on providing investment advice for the well-heeled investor, would tackle an issue that touches so many Americans. It makes perfect sense that if you are interested in preserving your assets, particularly if your assets are between $250,000 and $1.5 million, you would consider long-term care insurance and contacting your Syracuse estate planning attorney for a review of your current plans.