Long-Term Care Planning
Check out our upcoming seminars and register for one today!
Long-Term Care Planning | Register
Monday, January 30th at 6:30pm
Deciding whether to invest in long-term care insurance can be a difficult and confusing process.Long-term care planning is not only less complicated than you might think, but also far more important than you might imagine.
SEFCU Insurance Agency has teamed up with Eileen Dunn of Associates of Clifton Park, to offer you an opportunity to learn more about Long Term Care products.
Please note: All of our upcoming seminars will take place at the following location:
Dora Maxwell Auditorium
700 Patroon Creek Blvd.
Albany, NY 12206
About Eileen Dunn, MS, CMC, CLTC
Eileen Dunn is a medical social worker with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration. Eileen is employed full time by Associates of Clifton Park. Working as a Hospital Discharge Planner assisting patients with nursing home placement and post-hospital care for several years, she witnessed firsthand the financial devastation and emotional trauma of families who had not adequately prepared for their long-term healthcare needs. She also worked for the New York State Department of Health as Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Medicaid Management.
In addition to working with Associates of Clifton Park, she maintains a private practice as a geriatric care manager assisting families struggling to care for aging loved ones. She is a certified through the National Academy of Certified Care Managers and is a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.
This hands-on experience with families struggling with eldercare issues provides a unique and very real perspective regarding the need for long term care planning.
What is Long Term Care?
You may have heard the term, Long Term Care (LTC), but it is often confused with health care. Unless you have had a personal experience with someone needing it, you may not understand the impact it can have. LTC is assistance with what is termed custodial care, or assistance with the Activities of Daily Living, or ADL’s for short. These include bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, transferring (which can be help moving from a bed to a chair for instance), and continence. Additionally, when someone needs LTC services, they may also need help with items incidental to assistance with the ADL’s, such as paying bills, managing medication, light housekeeping, etc. Most of us have health insurance, and frequently when we turn 65 years of age, we qualify to enroll in Medicare, which for many is their health insurance in retirement. However, similar to most health insurance policies, Medicare is not meant to cover the cost of LTC services for an extended period of time.
As a result, we need to seriously consider what our options are for paying for Long Term Care services if and when we may need them. A shocking statistic is that for an individual reaching the age of 65, there is almost a 70% chance of requiring LTC at some point going forward. This number isn’t for a couple, it is for each individual. This care can be paid for out of pocket if the means are available. If not, there are programs such as Medicaid that you may be able to financially qualify for if you can prove you are impoverished. For many though, the thought of paying what could be over $100,000 per year for a Long Term Care event, could be financially catastrophic. This is where many consumers turn to an LTC insurance policy, as it can provide assistance to potentially cover, or at least offset some of those related costs. If you would like to learn more, either for yourself or a loved one, schedule a call with our Geriatric Care Manager 866-562-4722 or email us at sia-aocp@longtcare.com.
