Q:
When should you buy the insurance?
A:
At the latest, I'd say late 40s or early 50s. It's still affordable then. The premium is based on your heath status first, then your age. Generally speaking, the earlier you purchase a policy, the healthier you are and the more likely you are to qualify for insurance. People who have serious, chronic conditions may find their rates to be really high or they may even be uninsurable. The costs vary greatly from policy to policy, state to state, and person to person. Usually someone in his or her late 40s or early 50s will pay about $3,000 to $6,000 a year. That's for a very good policy. Someone in his 60s could pay several thousand dollars a year more for the same policy.
Q:
When does the coverage start?
A:
In order for the policy to kick in, you must have a certain level of need. Most providers define that as not being able to perform at least two of what are called "activities of daily living," in insurance-speak. Those are: bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, and transferring from bed to chair. So, you might have a hard time giving yourself a bath, and it might take you all day to do and then you're completely exhausted, but to the insurance company you're not compromised enough to use the insurance for that. The exception to that rule is folks with dementia. They may be able to perform those tasks, but they need supervision, so the insurance company will often pay out for their care.
Q:
Can you run into problems collecting your insurance?
A:
It's gotten better. Some of the companies that were the most difficult to deal with were on shaky financial ground, and they've gone out of business. Remember, the person who comes to do the assessment of whether you're able to perform the activities of daily living works for the insurance company, not for you. They'll be looking at your case through that lens. If you run into trouble getting them to pay benefits, you might want to enlist an advocate, like a geriatric care manager, if more than a simple follow-up phone call is necessary.
Health Coverage Made Easy
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