Even though the cost of care continues to rise, many people can still afford to ask who should buy long term care insurance. Common sense will dictate the answer – Everybody.

Centering so much on the annual premiums naturally makes an average American family think that long term care insurance (LTCI) is only intended for those individuals with a nest egg that is as sound as a dollar. Unfortunately, one’s savings account is not even counted as a reliable long term care (LTC) plan nowadays.

Even if you say that your money in the bank is solely for your LTC expenses, this is not enough and you won’t be able to sustain your LTC if you will rely on this alone. If LTC costs are fixed then perhaps you can depend on your resources and retirement savings but year after year the rates of LTC facilities go up as the demand for care increases.

Twenty years from now the elderly population, especially those from age 65 and older are expected to increase twofold. Around 79 million senior citizens are anticipated to require care in various LTC settings while 40% of them will need some degree of nursing home care.

As the number of elderly people in need of LTC gets bigger what is currently $77,745 annually for a nursing home will be $310,980 in 2030, a prediction from LTC experts and financial advisers which is not far from happening.

By 2050, the Department of Health & Human Services predicted that the population of people over the age of 65 would be around 88.5 million. The cost of care by that time would be unthinkable.

Who Should Buy Long Term Care Insurance?

Many employees of private business organizations still think their Medicare contributions will be enough to cover their LTC even after professionals on the LTC field have repeatedly disproved this notion.

Yes, Medicare may cover 100 days of your stay in a nursing home if your admission was preceded by a three-day hospital confinement due to medical reasons.

Simply put, Medicare won’t spend a single penny for your nursing home expenses if the reason of your stay is custodial care. You have to be critically ill before it will take notice of your needs.

Medicaid is another thing that is keeping people from taking LTCI seriously. In their heads, Medicaid is a sure-fire way to receive topnotch LTC service when in truth it is the exact opposite. This federal health insurance program will not ask you what you need and thus you only get what its funds are capable of covering.

To ensure yourself, your spouse, and your parents quality long term care you have to invest in LTCI. By the way, don’t start with the premiums to keep discouragement at bay. Anyone who should buy long term care insurance must remember that the cost of his LTCI policy will depend on the variables that he defines for the maximum benefit amount, benefit period, elimination period, and other essential components of the policy.