Long-term health care is the single largest out-of-pocket expense for the elderly and may account for as much as 81 cents out of every dollar spent on health care. Studies show that we stand a forty percent chance of needing long-term care at least once before we die. Therefore, everyone should take into account that at some point residency in a nursing home or an assisted living facility may be needed.

However, the substantial cost of nursing home care for an incapacitated person can wipe away a family's nest egg and the inheritance planned for surviving family members. It has been reported that one-third of married couples with one spouse in a nursing home will be destitute within 13 weeks. Half will be impoverished in one year. It�s even worse for those who are single. Long-term custodial care is the greatest financial challenge of our later years.

With the increasingly high cost of long-term care itself, many middle-class and even affluent Americans are resorting to Medicaid to help them afford this costly medical care. Therefore, it is not surprising that over the years, our clients have expressed a number of major concerns about how to adequately plan for potential incapacity and the impact of their incapacity on their life savings and Medicaid benefits. If you have questions about Medicaid eligibility, be sure to call sooner rather than later, as the timing of the decisions families need to make will have a dramatic impact on whether or not someone can actually qualify for this type of support.

As more and more Americans need long term care, we can expect that it will become increasing difficult to qualify for Medicaid. In most states, Medicaid is the second biggest item on the budget, and in a handful of states it is the biggest. The purchase of Long Term Care Insurance is a relatively new, but rapidly growing option for many of our clients.

The complexity surrounding this constantly changing area of the law can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be. We are here to help answer your questions about this difficult area. People are living longer these days and the importance of making certain they don't outlive their money has never been as vital as it is today. Planning in advance is extremely important to ensure not only that you are cared for during old age or disability, but that the wealth you have worked so hard to accumulate over the years might be passed on to your family, rather than spent on long term care.