Home Care Becoming a More Integral Aspect of Long-Term Care Planning

Planning ahead is often promoted as a responsible and reasonable action for most adults to take. When planning for retirement, people are encouraged to invest in their 401(k) (if offered by an employer), stocks, savings, and other investments. While 78 percent of full-time working aged Americans are living paycheck to paycheck (an epidemic in its own right) (CNBC), few of those remaining 22 percent are planning as properly as they can and don’t think there may be any need for long-term care in their future.

Most people simply don’t think about the prospect of requiring home care or any other type of long-term care in their future. Since they don’t think of those things, they never contemplate long-term care insurance or other issues associated with proper planning.

However, timing is of the essence. The earlier a person plans for their future, the more likely they will make quality decisions. According to Yahoo! News in its blog, Cost of nursing home care makes planning ahead crucial for financial security, written by USA Today journalist Tamara Holmes:

“When it comes to planning for long-term care, time matters. If you wait too long, long-term care insurance may no longer be an option since you can be denied because of health conditions.”

The cost of long-term care continues to increase, outpacing inflation due to a number of factors. The baby boomer generation retiring now is increasing the demand for long-term care services, which is placing even more pressure on various industries overall.

More seniors prefer to age in place, or remain home, even if they require some type of health support or other services. Relying on a full-time home care provider for three or five or even more years can financially devastate most individuals who fall within the 22 percent who were able and willing to invest properly for their retirement.

There is an ideal time for working aged adults to look into and consider long-term care insurance. The article went on to add:

“Premiums are also higher the older you apply so the ideal time to apply is between 55 and 65, Slome says.

There’s another reason why it pays to plan early.

“We’re seeing an increase in illnesses coming on at an earlier age,” says Jennifer Johnson, clinical director of CareScout, a Genworth subsidiary that helps families find care for their older loved ones.”

With home care being a more integral part of the overall health care industry, planning ahead and realizing one might just need these services is an important responsibility to take on now.