Health care costs in Colorado are among the highest in the nation, and while there is talk of legislation to help ease the burden on Colorado citizens it is still up to each of us to compare health options and shop wisely.
This is just as true when looking for low cost long term care insurance as it is for any other type of health care insurance.
Long term care insurance is designed to provide constant living assistance to patients with long-term or permanent disabilities or disease (such as Alzheimer’s). While many people think only of older patients in regards to long term care, a growing number of younger people are requiring round-the-clock care due to disease and accident.
Round-the-clock personalized care is obviously expensive, and well beyond the means of the average person without the assistance of an insurance plan specifically designed to cover such a contingency.
When comparing low cost long term health care plans in Colorado there are many options which can greatly affect the cost of the plan you choose.
The age of the person being insured is one of the biggest factors. Obviously the younger a person is and the better health the person is in the lower the cost of monthly premiums for any policy you choose.
Other factors include the kind of long term care setting in other words, does the policy cover 24-hour-per-day coverage in a nursing home setting, or will the insured continue living at home with only daily or weekly visits by a health care provider?
How long will care last? This can be measured in the number of days, weeks or years the policy will make payments, or it may be expressed in a maximum dollar amount that the policy will pay out. The duration you choose will affect the premium you pay for the policy.
Most policies have what they call an Elimination Period. This is simply a fancy way of saying that the policy has a deductible. The Elimination Period is the amount of time you must pay for long term care out of your own pocket before the insurance takes over.
Since most long term care policies are purchased years in advance of their actual need, most policies have the option for inflation coverage in order to keep the policy up-to-date with rising prices. Purchasing a policy with inflation coverage is more expensive, but may be worth it in the long run.