In the seminars I do regarding medicaid planning and elder law, I often tell my audience that the single best thing they can do to protect themselves in their latter years is to purchase long term health care insurance. In fact, I tell my peers and younger friends that the best thing you can do for yourselves, even now, is to buy long term health care insurance. Why? Because the cost of a nursing home, assisted living facility, or home health care is VERY expensive and can drain your lifetime savings very quickly – leaving nothing for your family and loved ones. Lisa Zamosky writing in the L.A.Times does a great job laying out all of the reasons, tradeoffs, and buying tips in her article, pointing out that most Americans mistakenly think that Medicare or the Affordable Care Act will provide for their needs. While some of the numbers may be different here in Maryland as opposed to California, the fundamental problem is no less troublesome. And as Ms. Zamosky points out, with the Federal Government projecting that 70% of the U.S. population over the age of 65 will some type of long term care, the issue is one that all of us should address – the sooner, the better!
