Long-term care expenses are generally not paid by Medicare or by other health insurance policies. Medicaid will cover nursing home care for those who meet federal poverty guidelines for income and assets. This is complicated so check with the Larimer County Office on Aging or the local Social Security office to learn about Colorado rules. One of the major reasons to acquire long-term care insurance is to provide financial protection for a spouse who needs care without draining the resources of the other spouse. Others purchase long-term care coverage because they wish to leave assets to children or other beneficiaries.
Most people stay in a nursing home for less than four years.
Consider your family history. If others in your family needed long-term care, you may want to purchase a policy at an early age long before you need it. Look for policies that are tax qualified. This means you won't owe tax if you begin to receive payments from the policy. The disadvantages of a tax-qualified policy relate to restrictions on eligibility when you need to collect benefits.