Every woman should understand some important facts about Long-Term Care.  Long-Term Care is care what you would require when you are unable to care for yourself, should that happen when you are 50-years old or 80, or any time in between. 

There may come a time when you are no longer able to care for yourself and it will be necessary to pay someone to take care of you. You may need help with bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence or transferring.  These are not necessarily things that you would want your husband, significant other or your children to do for you, and on average, women live seven years longer than men, meaning that we typically spend more time taking care of others and that fewer family members are around to take care of us when the time comes.

You may require Long-Term care if you are diagnosed with a cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease.  Long-Term Care can be required due to mental illness, injury, or disability at any age; 43% of those individuals requiring long-term support services today are under age 65. 

Most women are surprised to learn that long-Term care support services are not covered by their health or disability income insurance.  Medicare may be available for those over 65, but it will only pay for a limited amount of skilled care following a hospital stay. Very few people actually end up requiring skilled care.   If you need health care for an extended period of time, chances are you will pay for this care from your savings or retirement income.

The average annual cost of care in Michigan today is $74,000 in a facility and upwards of that amount for care in the home for a 24-hour period.  The costs increase 5% each year.  Is this an expense that you or your family can afford?  Long-Term Care is a family issue it is not a woman’s problem, it’s a family’s responsibility.

Long-Term Care insurance is a contract that guarantees to pay for a sudden, unexpected, large, continuing expense that would seriously deplete or exhaust your financial resources.  It is not limited to nursing home care for the elderly.  Long-Term Care insurance is actually designed to be, and may be the only, tool we have to keep us out of a nursing home when we need care for an extended period of time, as Long-Term Care insurance will actually pay for care in your home.

Savvy women today, even those with significant assets, now consider owning some Long-Term Care insurance because it allows your family members to care about you – not for you – and if they do, it will allow them to care for you better and longer.

If you are considering Long-Term Care insurance protection, here are five things to remember.

1. You must apply while you are in reasonably good health.
2. Policies that provide benefits for a limited period (three or four years) are more affordable.
3. Insurance policy discounts based on health and marital status can save on the cost.
4. Long-Term Care insurance will never be less expensive than it is today!
5. Plan for what you want or settle for what you get.

The real benefit of Long-Term Care insurance is access to quality care in the private marketplace at the appropriate level. Asset protection is just the frosting on the cake.

Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates, is a Long-Term Care Insurance Consultant in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Reach her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@aol.com.

This story originally appeared on www.experienceseniorpower.com.