31 October 2011

James Pintauro, an experienced advisor from Nationwide Insurance Company, spoke about long term care options at the Manor House on Thursday, October 20th.  This town hall meeting hosted by the Junior League of Pelham was attended by league members as well as the general public.

The purpose was to provide an understanding of the risks associated with long term care and the options for addressing them.  The agreed upon definition for long term care qualification by the federal government and the insurance industry is either the inability to perform two of six essential daily activities (bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence and mobility) or cognitive impairment.

Long term care needs affect both men and women, but statistics point to a greater need for women with 80% of all nursing home residents being female.  This long term care option is generally the most expensive, with costs around 125K in Westchester County and the average stay is approximately 2.5 years.  Another option is home care where an aid comes to the residence on a regular basis.  This type of care can cost upwards of 50K per year and is typically utilized for 4.5 years.

Planning for long term care should be considered well in advance of the need since the choices of doing nothing, self-funding, or relying on qualifying for Medicaid are not viable options for most people.  Consideration of obtaining the appropriate insurance to cover this type of need should not be overlooked.  It’s important to have this discussion with a trusted advisor who can help to mitigate risk, as they have the tools to provide the best solutions to meet individual needs.