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Life Health > Long-Term Care Planning

Long Term Care: Cutting through the cost question

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In an upcoming issue of Senior Market Advisor, our long term care expert, Ed McCarthy, will put together a detailed blueprint for achieving success with LTC products.

Since that article will not hit your desk for another month or so, I wanted to provide you with a sneak peek into this subject.

Because the subject of “cost” usually comes up when talking about long term care, let’s focus on that angle for the purposes of this blog.

The Cost of Local Care

According to McCarthy, it can impress prospects when you show them surveys citing average national and statewide costs for long term care facilities. For example, the cost of a private nursing home in the U.S. rose 3.3 percent to $219 per day or $79,935 a year, according to a 2009 MetLife survey.

Unless the prospects have recently had a family member receive long term care, figures like that will be an eye-opener for them.

As McCarthy says: “A more effective approach is to cite current costs at local facilities with which the prospect will be familiar. Instead of saying that the average daily cost for a nursing home in our state is ‘$xxx,’ for instance, it makes a stronger impact to quote the actual cost at the nursing home a few miles from the prospect’s home.”

While it might take some time to compile that information, it’s worth the effort. That’s the approach Wendell Morgan, an agent with Bankers Life & Casualty in Austin, Texas, takes because he services clients’ claims after they’ve entered a local care facility. As a result, he has firsthand knowledge of the facilities’ charges and can use that information in his presentations.

“I can say, here’s what it costs locally,” adds Morgan. “Do we want a play that pays all the cost or part of the cost? Tell me what you’re thinking.”

In the coming weeks, look for more insight into making long term care a successful part of your practice. If you have LTC strategies to share, please do so by filling out the box below.


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