Long Term Care is becoming an increasingly important concern of our aging population.  Due to increased longevity, it is becoming more likely that each of us will need Long Term Care services at some point in our lives.  It might be for a brief period with a full recovery.  It might also be required for a number of years.  The services provided may be at home, a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

Any way you look at it, it is expensive and most people can not afford to pay for the services they may need.  In some parts of the country it can cost over $100,000 per year.  We can only assume that those costs will continue to rise.

Many people think that Medicare provides Long Term Care coverage.   Although it does provide for some custodial care, there are requirements that must be met.  Even then the benefits are only for a maximum of 100 days with only the first 20 days covered at 100% if you are receiving daily Skilled Care.

Medicaid, a welfare program sponsored and financed by the Federal and State governments is currently the primary payer of Long Term Care.  In order to be eligible for Medicaid you must have limited income and limited assets.  You may not be eligible for Medicaid initially but once you meet the “spend down” requirements for the income and asset limits, you may later become eligible.  It will soon become impossible for the government to provide this coverage with the current tax structure considering the growing number of elderly.

Even if you only have modest assets that you wish to pass on, or if you desire choices of where you would like to be for any long term care services you may need, then you need to seriously consider Long Term Care insurance.

Until recently, all you could buy was a contract that provided the daily benefit and coverage period that best fit your budget.  You paid your premium and if Long Term Care services were never needed, then your premium was essentially wasted.

The government recognized that something needed to be done to encourage self reliance and to help maintain the dignity and financial security that we take a lifetime to gather.

Changes to the tax code (Section 7702B) as well as the Pension Protection Act of 2006 are encouraging the development and sale of Life and Annuity contracts with Long Term Care Riders.

These products are typically sold requiring a rather large single premium although that is not always the case.  For the reasons stated above, they are generally sold to individuals that have some assets that they want to protect.

Now you can purchase a Life Insurance or Annuity contract that can provide benefits to your beneficiary even if you never need or only need Long Term Care services for a limited time.  This same contract provides you with Long Term Care services if they are required.  For reasons that are shown in the our examples (UL with Long Term Care Riders and Annuity with Long Term Care Riders), the cost for the Long Term Care Rider is considerably less than purchasing a stand alone Long Term Care contract.