No one wants to think about long-term care, but many of us will need this support in the future. This is particularly true if you do not have children or younger family members who might be able to help care for you when you grow old. Caregiver.org reveals that an estimated 12 million Americans need long-term care. Long-term care can be provided in many ways, so you might not have to get long-term care insurance to take care of this need. If you were not aware of these other options in Pennsylvania, we will discuss them here.
Other Options to Replace Long-Term Insurance
While long-term care insurance can be a really good idea for many people, there are other choices that you can make in Pennsylvania for your care. You will find that these options offer other benefits that long-term care insurance does not. You will always need to look at the limitations of any policy that you are interested in applying for because there can be limitations for pre-existing conditions or limitations related to your age.
1. Short-Term Care Insurance
This insurance is also known as convalescent insurance. This covers about $100 or $200 a day of your healthcare costs. This is a policy that can be used for one year or less in most instances. This can be a great option if you are not sure about the long-term care insurance options that you have in front of you and the cost for this policy is not that much per month.
This might be your best option as well if you have been rejected by long-term care insurance, which can happen. These are policies that are not bound by the same promises as long-term care plans and they are not as concerned with pre-existing conditions and other possible limiting factors that can impact long-term care insurance.
2. Critical Care Insurance
These kinds of policies offer you access to lump-sum payouts if you should be diagnosed with certain health conditions. These might be things like cancer, a stroke, or a heart attack. Some of these policies also offer daily or monthly benefits like short-term care insurance. These policies are typically numerous and easy to apply for which is another big benefit for many people.
This is another really affordable option in most cases that will cover some of your costs for things that are truly catastrophic. This will not provide you the kind of coverage that long-term care would, but you will get the lump sum you need to pay for initial treatment and possibly also some support after the fact. You cannot get this kind of coverage, however, if you have already been diagnosed with this illness and have been in treatment for it in the past.
3. Annuity With Long-Term Care Rider
This is another option if you have been denied long-term care insurance in PA. You can get an annuity that is structured through a long-term care rider to be used tax-free for your health care costs. This will give you a monthly income for this specific use, which can be a very big help when you have long-term health struggles. This is something that must be set up well in advance of becoming sick with some kind of major health struggle, however. Most annuities lock the funds that you have placed in them for five to ten years. After this time, you can access the cash you need.
The underwriting for this kind of plan is typically not as stringent as for other kinds of longer-term care policies which can help you to get coverage if you have many conditions that are impacting your health. There is also more freedom in how you can use this coverage. Many policies are quite limited in this regard, but an annuity is much less restricted. This option does require that you have a large up-front payment to set up the annuity, but you can leave the remainder of the annuity to your heirs when you pass away.
At Antanavage Farbiarz, we take pride in offering expert estate planning services of various kinds for your needs as well as support for long-term care and its alternatives. Our team can explain all aspects of the estate planning process and provide support for different kinds of estate and trust plans. We can also help with guidance for donations through wills, trusts, gifts, and other methods as well. If you are ready to discuss your will and estate planning concerns, call us at (610) 562-2000 or use our contact form to schedule an appointment.