The cost of long term care insurance is currently on the rise. Some companies are taking advantage of this increasing cost trend, while others, like AARP are trying to provide affordable alternatives to their customers. However, there is no getting around the expense of long term health care, and all most of us can do is learn how to save a little money here and there.
The Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance
While the advantages of carrying long-term care insurance makes it a beneficial insurance to have, its cost makes it impractical for most people to buy it. For example, the average 2005 premium rate for all ages was about $1973 a year, this is a monthly premium rate of about $164.41 a month. For people over 75, however, the annual premium rate is $2604, or a monthly premium rate of $217. For seniors on a fixed budget this simply is not affordable.
What Does AARP Long-Term Care Insurance Cover?
The types of coverage and benefits offered by AARP Long-Term Care Insurance are going to vary depending on the type of policy that you select. Generally, a mid-level policy will provide you with coverage for both institutional and at home medical care. However, how much it will cover and for how long will vary depending on the level of policy you selected.
Rate Stability
In order to help their residents afford long-term care insurance several states have adopted NAIC premium rate stability provisions. In fact, nearly half of the states have some sort of rate provisions worked into their legislation. The states with these provisions include: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Recovering Some of the Cost
While you can’t generally cut the cost of your actual AARP long-term care insurance premiums, you can recapture some of your insurance costs. Most of the insurance policies that are offered by AARP for long-term health care qualify as a medical tax deduction. The amount of your premium that you can deduct is going to vary depending on your age.
AARP Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance is designed to bridge the gap between Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance and actual long-term care costs. This type of insurance is not as expensive as major medical insurance, however, when coupled with other expenses, it can make meeting monthly budget demands difficult. However, there is an upside to the high cost of long-term care insurance, and that is you can deduct part of your insurance expense from your federal tax liability.
Make sure your health and assets are protected with long term care insurance by clicking here for more information.
