Long term care is not something most people like to think about. But according to government figures, almost half of all Missouri residents aged 65 and older will need long term care at some time.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that the federal government’s Medicare program takes care of all of your health needs once you reach that golden age of 65. Unfortunately that simply isn’t the case and never has been.

The federal government does not offer any protection against the cost of long term health care, nor does the federal government provide any long term health care. Virtually none.

The state of Missouri, through its Medicaid program, does offer some relief to those who need long term care – but many Missouri residents are shocked to learn that before the state provides even one day of long term care you must first spend all of your resources and become totally indigent and dependent on the state.

At that point the state will determine what – if any – long term services you need and the state will determine who provides those services and what facility you will be housed in. Period.

If that doesn’t sound like the way you’d like to spend your later years, then it’s time right now for you to looking into purchasing long term care insurance. The sooner you purchase your long term care the cheaper the monthly premiums will be. And somewhat surprisingly, more than 15% of all patients receiving long term care in Missouri are under the age of 65.

Besides getting your long term policy now, before rates go higher on your next birthday, there are several other steps you can take to reduce the cost of your monthly insurance premiums.

Start by maintaining a healthy life-style, free of tobacco products. Smoking can raise the cost of your insurance premiums by almost 25%. Being overweight can also drive your long term care premiums higher.

Determine how large of a policy you want and can afford. Most policies have a lifetime cap on benefits. Also determine what kind of long term care treatment you envision: round-the-clock nursing home care is going to be more expensive than weekly or daily in-home assistance.

Determine how large of a deductible – called an Elimination Period – you can afford. The larger your deductible – the longer your Elimination Period – the less your long term insurance will cost you now.

Most long term care policies offer inflation protection. Since it may be years before you will need to take advantage of this type of insurance, an inflation adjustor may be a good investment.

Now go online and start your side-by-side comparisons of low cost long term health care in Missouri – the time you spend comparing policies today will pay off with lower premiums for years to come.

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