Smart Women Event Features Discussion on Long-Term Care
This article is republished with the permission of the State Gazette and Rachel Townsend.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

First Citizens National Bank’s 3rd Smart Women event welcomed a crowd of men and women alike who gathered at McIver’s Grant Public Library to learn more about long-term care and asset protection.

First Citizens National Bank hosted its 3rd Smart Women event at McIver’s Grant Public Library on Thursday, August 23rd. During the event, guest speaker Jason Ladd of White and Associates Insurance delivered an hour-long presentation on the topic of long-term care and asset protection.

Judy Long (above), president and COO of First Citizens National Bank, opened the event with an introduction of guest speaker, Jason Ladd (below).

Opening the event, First Citizens National Bank President and COO Judy Long welcomed all in attendance, taking time to thank those women who have served on the Smart Women Advisory Board before introducing Ladd.

Ladd, who has worked at White and Associates for over 20 years, says there are many considerations middle-aged individuals should take when deciding how to financially prepare themselves in the event they should need long-term care.

With 1 out of every 2 Americans likely to receive some sort of long-term care during their lifetime. Whether it be through an assisted living facility, home health or even adult day care, the cost of affording such care is something Ladd says should be carefully planned for.

In a slide presented by Ladd, the current cost of long-term care for home health is approximately $41,184, while assisted living can be as much as $33,300. Private room requests in assisted living facilities can increase the cost by nearly an extra $40,000, totaling $72,000 for just one year.

In 20 years, Ladd says the cost of services is estimated to nearly double, with home health expenses projected to cost $74,483 per year, with assisted living center costs rising to $60,144.

While many individuals in the their 60s are recipients of insurance through government plans such as Medicaid and Medicare, Ladd says neither will cover the costs of an assisted living facility, which require patients to pay for care through personal funds, retirement or a private insurance plan.

And while Medicaid will pay for a percentage of long-term care through spend-down options, individuals are left with limited options for choosing their own facilitator.

So what are your options for long-term care?

Ladd says there are three insurance plans, which come highly recommended.

Traditional LTC insurance is one of the oldest forms of LTC coverage and provides individuals with tax-free benefits, assisted living center coverage, nursing home coverage and home health services. Funds invested into a Traditional LTC plan may be used only for long-term care and may not be recovered if unused. Since not everyone will claim funds from a Traditional LTC plan, they are typically more affordable.

An Asset-based LTC plan requires no premium, and individuals will not experience a rate increase. Unlike the Traditional LTC, those with asset-based plans will have access to their initial investment.

Life-based LTC plans are the newest form of LTC plan. Ladd says with a life-based long-term care plan, individuals are given a selected amount of funds for use as a death benefit, and have the option to pull out 25-percent to cover long-term care with access to 90-percent of funds. Those purchasing Life-based LTC plans will have freedom to choose their long-term health provider while also protecting their assets for a reasonable monthly premium.