The Iowa Insurance Division is launching a statewide education campaign to encourage people to look into long-term care insurance. Division spokesman Tom Alger says the program “You’re on the Road of Life” urges people to plan now for their financial needs down the road.
Alger says those needs can be catastrophic for some people. “When they occur and they will occur for a lot of people, they’re high-end expenses and they can jeopardize a retiree or a family’s future.” He says health care costs continue to rise and many Iowans underestimate the risks and the costs of long-term care and they’re not prepared.
Alger says there’s a projection that about 60-percent of U.S. citizens will require long-term care at some-point in their lives and estimates show the average cost for one-year of such nursing home care is about 62-thousand dollars. “That’s very substantial when you’re looking at limited retirement monies available.” He says for the most part, Medicare does not pay for long-term care, which is why it’s important to help Iowans get started planning now to find smart solutions for challenges ahead.
One option is long-term care insurance. Alger says “There’s going to be a certain number of people for a certain period of time that are going to need nursing home care. It’s not to say that each of us is going to have that 62-thousand dollar a year expense, some of us are, and it’s for that purpose that insurance exists that tries to anticipate that risk.” Iowans who want to learn more can call toll-free 877-955-1212 or surf to “www.travelwisely.iowa.gov”.