“!‘n only fifty-three,” said Art. “I’m not going into any nursing home, and I’m not spending my money on any nursing home insurance.”
Art can’t tell his story now; his speech is still too slurred from the stroke. I will tell it for him.
When Anna and Art came into my office, I hardly noticed Anna, she was so tiny. Art, on the other hand, was huge, built like Smokey the Bear, with a great booming voice. Though soft-spoken, Anna, a schoolteachei; was not the least bit intimidated by her husband of twenty-seven years. Art had been offered early retirement, and they had come to see me about whether he should take it. After going through all their finances, we decided that although it was going to be close, they should take the offer, which was an excellent package. Only one thing worried me. Anna had a heart condition, which had already necessitated two operations. She was also scheduled for a third operation in four months. The good news was that as a teacher, her health insurance coverage was excellent. But knowing of her condition, and considering Art’s age, I Suggested that we look into long-term-care (LTC) insurance for Art.
LTC insurance covers some of to all of the expenses the policyholder will incur if he or she were to enter a nursing home; it’s that simple. As you will soon be able to tell, I love long- term-care insurance. I believe that it’s one of the most importing policies you can have. Long-term-care insurance is called Itito service more than any other kind. Yes, yes, I know, a nursing home would be decades off if you ever even had to enter one, right? Your parents aren’t even in a nursing home. If you’re twenty, thirty, or forty, I agree, this is not a policy to think about right now—for yourself, at least. But as you read this chapter, think about your parents. If you are hitting that magical fifty mark, well, now you should read this chapter for you as well. It is when they reach fifty that I start talking to all my clients about LTC insurance. At fifty-three Art was about to hear me talk about it.
Like most health or life insurance policies, LTC policies require that you qualify for them, and I knew that with her weak heart, Anna would never be eligible. But Art would, and such a policy, if he ever needed it, would provide protection for Anna that could make all the difference in the world to her.
You see, what happens all too often with couples is that one of them ends up in a nursing home, and it takes every penny of income they both have coming in just to pay for those nursing home bills. The person who is healthy and at home is left with no money to live on and so has to start using the savings, retirement plans, and the principal that they had spent a lifetime saving. Before you know it, all the savings are used up, and then, when the partner in the nursing home dies, the one who is alive and well is left penniless and perhaps with many years remaining to live. I see this happen all the time, and it’s devastating, which is why I brought up the subject of LTC insurance with Art and Anna. The subject went over like a lead balloon. “Do I look like a man who is ever going to end up in a nursing home?” Art boomed, and I had to admit he had a point. I said okay for now but one day soon we would talk about it again.
That day came just five months later. I received a call from Anna, who sounded very weak. She was slowly recovering from the heart surgery she’d had the month before, but her news this time was about Art. While she was still in the hospital, he had had a massive stroke, leaving his right side para lyzed and slurring his speech. If either of them got worse, how would they manage? They both remembered that I had said good nursing home care in the area in which they lived today cost $3,500 a month—a huge amount, given their financial situation. Did I think there was any way Art could still qualify for LTC insurance? No, I didn’t, not now.
But Anna and Art got a very lucky break. The company that handled Anna’s retirement plan was starting to offer group LTC insurance, and as part of their enrollment campaign they were accepting all employees and spouses, regardless of their current health. I don’t generally like group plans as much as individual insurance, but the plan offered Anna and Art protection that most people in their situation couldn’t get at all.