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A New Year and New Beginning
As we begin a new year, we, at NHS, would like to provide all of you with the knowledge and tools to help you make the right choices and decisions for yourselves and your loved ones.
In an effort to achieve that goal, we will dedicate each issue of this years newsletters to a different component of the many subjects that comprise the complicated field of long-term care.
We must, therefore, begin with the basics and the question of "Why should you be concerned with the need for Long-Term Care?". Every eight seconds a member of the Baby Boom generations turns 50. It is estimated that between 50% to 70% of the American population will need some form of long-term nursing care at some point during their lives. A retiree has a 43% chance of entering a nursing home. It is also an expense that few individuals or families anticipate or are prepared to handle when a health crisis arises. The minimum average monthly cost of care is currently $4200.00 per month. That is only a starting point and is much more likely to cost far more. Certain illnesses are, by their very nature, expensive to manage, such as Parkinson's, MS, respiratory complications as well as heart attacks. These illnesses can cost from $15,000.00 to $40,000.00 per month for a stay in skilled nursing facility.
It should be apparent that for the majority of the population, neither personal savings, standard health care insurance, long term care insurance, nor Medicare will be adequate to pay the astronomical cost of skilled nursing care on an ongoing, indefinite basis.
Are there options? Are there ways to pay for long-term care needs? What are the limits of Medicare? What are the pitfalls of long-term care insurance? What is the truth about living trusts? What are the dangers of reverse mortgages? What are the dangers of reverse mortgages? What are the facts about long-term-care MediCal? Is it a poverty program? What simple tools can you have in place to help you and your family in a time of crisis? When is it time to stop being a caregiver?
There are real answers and real options for anyone and any family, regardless of the size of their estate. We, at NHS, want you to be an informed consumer and will do our best to give you the information that will, in turn, empower you to make the right choices for your family.
Call us for assistance - (800) 773-6467.
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