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 |  Suzanne, a single parent at age 35, found herself working full-time and taking care of her seven year-old son. Fortunately, Suzanne’s employer offered group long-term care coverage to her and her parents. Suzanne thought ahead and purchased a policy for herself. Since her mother was a widow, Suzanne encouraged her mother to purchase a policy. Four years later, her mother suffered a stroke and required daily help with personal care and meal preparation. | ||
| Since Suzanne was working and raising her son, she was unable to provide the care her mother needed. However, a care manager from the long-term care insurance company recommended that Suzanne’s mother move to an assisted living facility in a residential setting. The expenses were covered by her mother’s long-term care policy. Suzanne and her mother planned ahead and avoided a costly situation by having a long-term care policy in place when it counted. Cost of long-term care is expensive A quarter of Americans approaching retirement age do not know the cost of nursing home care. Only 15 percent can identify the cost within 20 percent of the national average monthly cost, $4,654. The cost of being ill for a long time are sky- rocketing. Approximately one sixth of all individuals who are now 18 years old can expect to spend two and a half years in a nursing home at a cost of $100,000. Statistics show that 72 percent of people admitted to a nursing home become penniless within the first year. Unless you have enough assets to spend about $30,000 a year on long-term care, your life style could be severely affected without financial protection. Disability coverage doesn’t provide long-term care Disability insurance coverage replaces lost wages if you can no longer work. Those payments may be enough for normal living expenses, like food and housing. Disability coverage wouldn’t be enough to also pay for long-term care, such as home health care, adult day care, assisted living facilities, an alternate care facility or a nursing home. Medicare and private health insurance plans cover medical expenses and are not meant to cover long-term care costs. When disability strikes growing families, other long-term goals, like saving for college or retirement, can be adversely affected. |
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 | Disability doesn’t respect age or timing An accident or illness may strike any person at any age and at any time. Every ten minutes, 350 people suffer a disability injury due to an accident. And, almost 20 percent of the U.S. population – approximately 49 million people – are disabled. This includes people of all ages, not just the elderly. An automobile accident, cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, a stroke, multiple sclerosis or other maladies can happen without warning. About one-fourth of American households are providing informal care to a friend or relative. Nearly forty percent of people receive long-term care are working adults between the ages of 18 and 64. Employer-sponsored plans A group long-term care plan that is sponsored by an employer can provide long-term care coverage at affordable premiums. Buying long-term care coverage now can lock in rates and keep costs lower when compared to purchasing coverage when you’re older. If you buy coverage now, you can keep it for life, wherever your career takes you. Who offers long-term care? Long-term care coverage is available through several sources: individual policies, employer-sponsored group plans and association policies. The Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust offers an employer -group plan for employees of Catholic organizations. The coverage is provided by CNA Financial Corporation, one of the pioneers of long-term care, which has offered this coverage since the 1960’s. Christian Brothers Services offered the long-term care benefit to its employees on a voluntary basis. After an organized educational program, 49% of its employees enrolled during the open-enrollment week in April 2001. The company made it possible for its employees to buy good coverage at an affordable premium. Should you obtain long-term care coverage? Long-term care coverage may not be for everyone. If you can’t afford the premiums, have limited assets, are living “on-the-edge” financially or have Social Security as your only source of income, you should not purchase a policy. However, if you have significant income and assets and want to protect them, or if you want to stay independent of the support of others, a long-term care insurance policy may make sense. Who to Contact If you’re interested in learning more about the long-term care coverage offered through Christian Brothers, please call or email John Airola at (800)807-0100 ext. 2450. You can also read a comprehensive report, “A Shopper’s Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance”, published by NAIC (the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.) You may obtain a copy at a minimal cost by calling NAIC at (816) 842-3600. by John Airola, Managing Director, Employee Benefit Services | ||
