Long-Term Care & Planning

Most of my clients never imagined that they would need assistance with their own long-term care needs. These long-term care needs can range from a family member assisting them with chores around their own home, such as help with meal preparation or shopping, to much more involved assistance outside of their home in an institutional setting. Perhaps these differing needs and expectations are why AARP estimates that less than 10% of seniors have a plan to pay for their own long-term care needs. These same studies estimate that roughly 99 million Americans, or roughly 1/3 of the U.S. population, currently need some assistance because of their age or disability. A recent study published by Genworth estimates that 2/3 of the senior population will need some form of long-term care assistance during their lifetime. This number is expected to continue to increase as our population ages. The statistics associated with the likelihood of needing some form of long-term care assistance are staggering. Therefore, it is essential to learn all you can about long-term care planning and your options before you are in the middle of a crisis. More seniors than ever are being affected by debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's, or suffer sudden unforeseen health events such as stroke. Unfortunately, nursing homes may be the only option for many of these people, and most of them have never considered the possibility that admission into a long-term care facility will become necessary. Further, recent studies have found that less than 10% of the senior population have discussed their long-term care preferences with a spouse or other loved one. Folks facing the looming crisis of a diagnosis of one of these disabling conditions must empower themselves with as much information about these long-term care planning options as one can learn to be able to successfully manage these problems. How you and your family go about facing these challenges and making these important health care and life style decisions can have a significant impact on the quality of your life and the lives of your loved ones. This book is designed to be a resource to people who have identified that some assistance will be necessary for themselves or a loved one. Many Californians are concerned about the "new" changes to the Medi-Cal program. They have heard all sorts of things about those changes, some fact and many fiction. Many Californians believe that it is now virtually impossible to get the benefits that they are entitled to receive. For many Californians this could not be further from the truth. Not only do these benefits continue to exist but more people than ever can qualify for help. Therefore, if you, a family member, or someone close to you is considering their long-term care needs - whether these needs are being taken care of at home or in a long-term care facility, and you are interested in protecting a portion of your assets from the high cost of care, you need to read this book. If you are interested in protecting the quality of life to which you or your loved ones have grown accustomed, you need to read this book. The information in this book will provide you with a foundation to help you understand the issues involved in long-term care, and help familiarize you with the topic of long-term care planning and the various programs available to help with the cost of long-term care. -Richard Scott Stewart Read more