Planning for Long-term Health Care
It’s the unspeakable. We all know about saving for retirement, but how many of us plan for when we or our parents can no longer take care of ourselves?
While many of us have concerns about health as we age or we watch our parents age, most of us simply do not want to think about the issue. Few of us are planning for the eventual need for long-term health care.
Many financial planners believe that Americans are not financially prepared to deal with the issue of long-term health care. We’ re all living longer yet living longer does not necessarily mean living in perfect health. And the costs of long-term health care both financial and personal can be high.
Just thinking about the need for long-term health care raises a myriad of potentially disturbing questions:
Who will make decisions about my care when I am unable?
How can I make sure I'm not a burden to my family?
How can I take care of my aging parents?
What options are available to me and to my parents for long-term health care?
Everyone needs to consider these questions… before the need arises. Proper planning and open discussion among family members can promote effective financial planning, ensure that the best alternatives for care are chosen, confirm that everyone agrees on a plan of action, and help loved ones avoid being caught unprepared.
Times have changed
The personal costs of long-term health care
Planning for the inevitable
Long-term health care preparations
Plan ahead
By The Financial Planning Association
http://www.fpanet.org/
