Study Shows Patients Not Prepared for Long Term Care Costs

Are you assuming that you won’t need the support provided by long term care? That could be a significant mistake and one that could cost you and your loved ones for many years. A new study has shown that plenty of patients are not prepared for the out of pocket costs of long term care.

Patients underestimate the financial responsibility connected with starting long term care, meaning that they are willfully unprepared for the out of pocket costs linked to a long-term care facility.

A new survey of more than 2000 family caregivers and patients reveal that patients greatly underestimate their long-term care needs and approximately 70% of all patients end up needing some form of long term care but only 46% of those patients predicted that they would need long term care.

Patients also overestimated the point at which they might need to begin long term care support. Most assumed that the common age for these facilities or care types was at age 79, despite the fact that the national average for beginning this sort of treatment is 73. The cost of a nursing home can be significant. A semi-private nursing home room costs an average of $85,775 per year, whereas an assisted living facility cost $45,000.

Approximately 64% of the survey’s respondents had not saved anything for long term care, putting them at serious risk of losing their financial assets and not being able to recover quickly enough to pay for their remaining years or to pass on assets to their loved ones. Before you face these significant challenges, schedule the time to talk to an attorney you can trust. A lawyer in VA Beach will help you put together an estate plan that keeps your best interests in mind.