Do You Know Who Pays For Long Term Care?
Have you ever thought about who actually pays for long term care? According to the Health Policy Institute, in 2007, a report confirmed that “…more than $200 billion is spent each year on long-term care in the US.”
That’s a lot of money, so it begs the question is, who is paying for this?
Those who are fortunate enough to have family near by can count on family for long term care, and therefore save lots of money. The reality is though, as families live further and further apart, this is becoming more difficult. So…
The top 5 payers of long term care are:
- Medicaid – $101.1 billion
- Medicare – $42.2 billion
- Out-of-pocket – $37.4 billion
- Private Health & Long Term Care Insurance – $14.9 billion
- Other Private – $5.6 billion
These statistics, and a lot more, can be found in Kiplinger’s “The Next Step”, a fantastic workbook on planning for long term care. As mentioned in the workbook, reading these numbers may create an assumption that the government is willing to pay the bill for long term care. Click the image below to read more about why one, the government most likely isn’t going to cover the tab and two, why it’s important to educate yourself now about how to handle the escalating costs of long term care.
/
Related posts:
I believe the feds should be promoting people buy ltc through insurance companies to shift more burden away from tax payer supported programs. We can ill afford to continue paying this cost.