Do You Plan For Your Long Term Health Needs?

I heard a radio ad this morning that made me think about getting older. This one was for a local rehabilitation center that is used when you have things like knee or hip surgery. It is actually operated by an assisted living senior complex. My thought was how often older folks have some surgery and then end up in long term care. Low and behold there is an article about this type of health coverage on Marketwatch today

I don't know what is going to happen when I get really old, I try not to think about it because I am not really old yet, and these days people live to be so much older then they used to be. I have seen people that are close to my age struggle and need some sort of assisted living. Luckily that is not me, at least not now. Do you think about what you will do when you are really old? Or do you just figure it will sort itself all out?

I try to do the right things and I know there is no sure fire plan, I don't think that a long term health plan is a good idea for me. After working in a nursing home I do not want that for my future unless I am so incapacitated I don't know what's going on. And that happens, Alzheimer's is no joke.

 

I am quite young and live in Europe where most care is pretty much free anyway, so I don't really pay any attention to this yet. But as I get older I'm sure I will give it more thought but currently I see a solid passive income as something that will enable me to pay for all the healthcare needs that I will face in the future.

 

I haven't started preparing for it yet but it's definitely among my plans. I want to be prepared in case my health deteriorates in the future. I don't want to put the responsibility of taking care of my health to my children when I grow old. It would be too much of a burden to them.

 

Guess I should add that IF you live in a country where healthcare is expensive, it might be worth it to have medical insurance even at a younger age. You never know what is going to happen. Like I said I personally don't do this but that is mainly because here the large majority of medical care is completely free. And that which isn't free, the patient only pays a small percentage of the total cost.

 

Well yes of course. In the end someone always pays for it. But it is good to know that one doesn't have to worry about how to finance it if you need some expensive treatment due to an accident or a random disease. Guess it's the same for those in the states who get a good medical insurance from their employer or pay for one themselves.

 

I have not planned for my long term health needs and that is bad, but I'm not worried, I'm going to get everything straightened out pretty soon, I intend to provide myself and my family with a clean bill of health, so long as they live, and by that I mean, strict dentist visits, MRI scans, Fitness tests, skin treatment and nail treatment (if necessary). These things have to be done because as everyone always says- you only have one body and you have to take care of it. So, first on the agenda for me is to get myself and my wife a pair of braces and then constantly use our health insurance benefits.

 

People do need to plan for long term health care now because we are going to live much longer than generations before us. Our parents and grandparents live well into their 80s and 90s now, for the most part, and we need to consider that us in the younger generations might live to 100 or beyond.

It used to be that people died well before they needed things like assisted living homes and hip replacements, but times have changed. Health care for the elderly is important and something we all need to consider while we are still young.

 

I have long term care insurance on my radar, but I feel I'm too young to purchase it right now, and from what I've heard the value has gone down a lot in the last 5-10 years. (It's gotten more expensive and the scope of coverage has gone down as well.) I'd talked to my parents about it a couple of years ago when I first learned about it, but they said they'd researched it and it was too expensive. I have family history of numerous cancers as well as Alzheimer's, so it's pretty likely that I will need assistance to stay in my home as I reach old age. That gets expensive really quickly. I think when you are in your 40s and 50s is probably the ideal time to plan for it. By then you have a reasonable idea of how much your retirement is likely to cost (cost of housing, plans for what you will do in retirement, whether your kids are likely to be nearby or scattered around the country/globe, etc.) and how well you are doing at meeting that cost. If you are well on track for your retirement goals, you can probably factor those health care costs in. If you are struggling to get your retirement funded, then additional insurance or making more concrete plans with your kids (I'll help pay for your house if you put in an apartment in the basement for when I'm old) would make sense.