Long term care insurance is much more than nursing home insurance. Yet many of us have been sold on this idea that "you do not want to be in a Medicaid nursing home and broke." Hopefully after reading this article, you will see long term care insurance in a different light.

It is true that a nursing home's cost can be financially devastating. According to the 2000 ACLI Study, "Can Aging Baby Boomers Avoid the Nursing Home" the average nursing in the US costs $44,100 a year and care in your home is $15,743. Long term Care Insurance polices have been sold on the premise that the cost of the nursing home is going to bankrupt you.

People can relate better to receiving long term care help at home. While it is hard to believe that no one knows someone in a nursing home, it is possible that it may not register. It is unfortunate, but often when people are put in nursing homes, a phenomenon called "out of sight out of mind" can take place. We do not attempt to forget people, but when Ms. Johnson does not call you anymore, you may soon do the same. The reason we illustrate that point is because we all can visualize someone at home, who has a RN nurse or assistant visit them 4 or 5 hours a day, but maybe not at a nursing home.

Long Term Care Insurance protects you not just in the nursing home. The reason to investigate Long Term Care Insurance, is because you can control your environment, and dictate when the nurse will come to your home. If the state is paying for it, they will tell you when the nurse will see you. Besides do you want to have to choose between receiving care and your prescription drugs. Sure people may say that was a horrible thing to say, but it is possible. When you become sick and need long term care, it is too late to qualify for coverage and no knows how long they will be sick. Long Term Care Insurance can allow you the freedom from worry, depending on the coverage you select. Most polices will even train someone to be an informal caregiver, whether it is a family member or friend.

Remember Long Term Care Insurance is more than coverage for nursing home. It provides benefits of care that can take place in one's own home. The picture of someone becoming broke and going in a nursing home is not as vivid as someone needing care at home. The nursing home is usually the last straw, but to be at home and worrying about needing long term care can be emotionally damaging and financially devastating.

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