To live forever is a wishful thinking!  To stay functionally healthy forever is just as wishful. By age 85 seven in ten adults have long term care needs sufficiently serious to be met in either an institution or the community.

I just met an 89 year old lady this morning.  Besides her hunched back, her doctor told her that she is in very good shape.  She lives by herself and even cooks for her sons from time to time.  At the end of our conversation, she looked at me straight in the eye and said with a smile: don’t you call me an old lady!  I am 89 going on 44!

Living longer is a good thing, but aging healthily and independently is another! Unlike this lucky elderly lady I met earlier, many seniors are concerned about the possibility of needing long-term care.  Almost all seniors want to have their long term care needs met in their own home.

Planning for long term care needs is not easy!  Do I really need it; if so, when and what and how long?

Traditional long term care insurance policies require the insured to make permanent choices when applying for their insurance.  Over half of non-purchasers of long term care insurance say that it costs too much. About a third of those are waiting for better policies. Some insurance companies have developed responsive products that address these concerns.  These insurance companies allow you to buy the policy you can afford now and then add to your benefit package in later years without additional underwriting.  This policy allows you to increase your daily benefit amount based on the rate of inflation, increased benefit periods, and/or reduced elimination or waiting periods.

Most long term care insurance contracts also provide a reimbursement method when comes to payment.  A new type of long term care insurance contract gives you a “hybrid payment system”.  You have the option to receive reimbursement benefits, cash benefits, or a combination of both. By choosing a hybrid policy, you can receive a guaranteed sum of cash in addition to your daily reimbursement amount. Cash benefits are paid monthly and you may use the cash to pay for all sorts of services and goods not usually covered by conventional long term care insurance. You may choose a fixed daily cash amount up to a maximum at the time of your application.

Even with such flexible policies out there on the market, some people still hesitate on planning their long term care needs. Time changes that. They might also ponder -- What if I never need long term care? Am I throwing away my money spent on long term care insurance?  (I will continue and expand this discussion in the next issue! Look for my column or contact me!)

 Editor's Note:  This column is written by Yen Chan, Certified Senior Advisor.  The information contains in this column is for general reference only.  Any specific questions please contact your personal financial professional or Yen Chan at 301-840-8380 or visit www.seniorsolutionusa.com