Long Term Care Industry Continues to See Growth

The long term care industry had seen remarkable growth in the past 5 years.  This is according to a recent news article from Marketwire.  The revenues of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home care agencies had experienced a 5.5% growth between 2006 and 2011.

Could this mean that more Americans are now seeing the importance of preparing early and the possibility of needing premium health care in the future?

Based from the news, the growth in the industry is also influenced by the increasing elder population, however, these health agencies can expect challenges and difficulties when it comes to their customers ability to pay.  Kalorama's research also stated that the lack of changes or developments in federal long term care benefits brought by budget deficits may cut some Medicaid funding, therefore this can be another reason for people to turn into private insurance for their needs.  Seems like the Government Not Ready for Increasing Long Term Care Needs

With the expansion of the industry, people are also provided with more health care options.  Before choosing a care setting or buying a long term care insurance, be sure to check out other choices and weigh first their pros and cons.

Before Buying Long Term Care Plans

1. Know your needs.
- Since long term care plan is expensive, know if it is really the health insurance that can answer your health needs

2. Research
- Find out everything you want to know about long term care insurance.  Right down your questions and find the right answers from the right people or resources

3. Meet the reliable carriers
- Deal only with trusted and reputable insurance companies

4. Get long term care quotes
- To have an idea about the cost of LTC services, get free quotes.

Check this out for a Quick Guide on Long Term Care Costs by State

Choosing from America's Best Nursing Homes

Annually, the US News Health rates, ranks, and recognizes the best nursing homes around the country.  This is based on the inspection and ratings by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  These facilities need to pass qualifications on health inspections, nurse staffing, and quality of care in order to receive high marks and make it to the honor roll.


For those considering nursing homes for their long term care setting, you can be more confident and have a peace of mind if you select a nursing home from this list.  This is because only the top facilities with excellent ratings and topnotch services are included in this so you can be sure that you can make a good choice for your premium health care.


Connecticut looks like a promising location for long term care, as four nursing homes from the state made it in the 2011 honor list.  Here is the complete list: Best Nursing Homes US News Honor Roll


Start planning for tomorrow's care, get long term care quotes as early as today.  Decide in which part of the country would you like to stay to receive your specialized extended care and begin gathering information on long term care costs by state.

Do You Really Need Long Term Care

Long term care (LTC) services can really be costly.  That is why, you have to ask yourself first if you really need this type of insurance.  Here are some ways to assess your needs.

Looking at Medical and Personal Needs

LTC services are comprised of both medical and custodial care.  This specialized care is actually designed to cater to patients who were inflicted with a chronic disease, disabling condition or serious injury and accident, thus giving them difficulty in performing activities of daily living (ADLs).  Included in these ADL's are bathing, feeding, clothing, transporting, etc.

Given these special conditions, family members must analyze if these needs can be covered by a long term care insurance. Can an LTC policy help them in paying for care?

The next thing to ask is where can the patient's needs be best provided.  In here, families will choose the care setting where they will take in their loved ones.  Again, be sure to assess if a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or home care will best work for the extended care.  The daily or monthly rates of these care providers can really be costly so be sure to choose one that you can really afford.

Moreover, there are other resources that can assess your patient's needs such as his physician or a care specialist.  As for other matters concerning LTC insurance, you can seek advice from lawyers or financial advisers, as an addition to what agents can tell  you.  If you are interested in getting long term care insurance quotes, most insurance companies have websites that give free quotes online.

Why Window-Shop for Long Term Care Insurance Policies

Window-shopping is an activity that is not performed exclusively in the malls.  It is also done online.  People who want to buy a signature shirt, a set of jewelry, and even those who are in search of affordable long term care quotes hop from one site to another checking goods and comparing their prices.   

Not everybody who goes to the mall has available cash in hand that is ready to fly into the nearest cash register.  Believe it or not, most of the people that you bump into inside malls are window-shoppers checking out the prices of products or goods that are going to be useful to them. 

Now once the money that they were expecting arrives, they can go back to the mall and save time on looking around as they know exactly already what they need to buy. 

If you’re planning to buy a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, it’s best to work with a licensed insurance agent who is affiliated with major LTCI carriers as he can no doubt get you the best deal.

I take insurance agents as personal shoppers who buy exactly what you need but they have to have complete information of what you want and need in order for them to be able to bring home the right goods. 

Personal shoppers need to know your personal preference in clothes, shoes and accessories.  Of course, you have to specify your budget too, otherwise they’ll just keep combing the malls and getting expensive things that they deem would look good in you.

Now when requesting long term care quotes you should supply your LTCI agent with your personal information.  You can do this online as there are so many insurance agencies or companies these days that equip their websites with a form which you only have to fill out in order to receive your requested LTCI quotes. 

It is not advisable, however, to fill out just any online form that you stumble upon on the Internet because you might end up giving away your personal information to a scammer.  Conduct a background check on your LTCI representative and the companies which he represents at the same time.    

Once you’re done with that, identify your possible health care needs and your choice of long term care setting because this will determine how much daily benefits you’ll need from your LTCI policy.

Although nursing homes have an average annual rate of $77,745 according to Genworth Financial while in-home care can total to $71,040 if you would combine the median annual rates of a home health aide and homemaker services, it is important to get the specific LTC rates in the area where you live to avoid running short on LTCI benefits or overspending on your annual premium. 

Long term care quotes are definitely important as these will help you weigh which type of policy will provide you the best coverage someday.