Why Do I Need Long Term Care Insurance? 
Roughly sixty percent of Americans will require long term care services sometime during their lifetime . This is not exclusively a problem for the elderly as younger people can require this type of care some times . This level of care includes a range of services including skilled and custodial care that is provided over a long period of time . These requirements come from chronic sickness or injury , cognitive impairment and physical disability . Hospitals provide acute care . Medical care given over a long period of time for chronic conditions is where the need for long term care arises . Sometimes custodial care is required because the patient has lost the ability to do one of the recognized activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living . Most of the long term care given in the US is given by family members . However , there are many situations where family members can not provide necessary care . Professional and non-professionals can provide aid and assistance to these people . This long term care can be given in the home of the patient or in a variety of institutional settings . Long term care can be given in day-care facilities , nursing homes , and assisted living facilities . On average men need more than two years of long term care while women need almost four years on average ? The leading causes for patients requiring long term care are dementia , arthritis , cancer , stroke and nervous conditions . Caring for a patient in a home setting can cost up to $ 150,000 per year . The cost for a nursing home bed is about $ 75,000 per year -LRB- this varies by location . -RRB- There are basically four ways to finance long term care . The family can take the expense out of their own pocket , they can look to government programs -LRB- if they qualify , -RRB- they can use long term care insurance or they can rely upon charity . For a variety of reasons long term care insurance has provided a solution for many people . LTC insurance provides predictability for an otherwise unpredictable risk . It has become such popular coverage and policyholders have been so reluctant to drop their coverage that the benefits have started exceeding the premiums . It is quite popular among wealthy policyholders . Many companies that offered coverage have withdrawn and others have been forced to raise their premiums . This adjustment seems to be complete now . There are various forms of LTC coverage . Policies different widely . It is rather difficult to compare but is worth the effort . When deciding on a policy the first thing to establish is the amount of coverage you want and the period of time you want coverage . The second consideration is how soon after the start of long term care will you want the policy to start paying . This waiting period is computed in several ways so care must be exercised to make sure you are making a fair comparison . Not all policies use the same events to trigger benefits so care should be taken in this area as well . This can be a very technical area so compare your situation with the policy requirements . How a policy pays out will vary according to the policy . Some policies provide for reimbursement of expenses , others use an indemnity form which pays up to a specific limit of expenses incurred on each specific day , and some are on a cash model which pays a maximum benefit regardless of the actual cost of the care that is being given . Long term care insurance is a way to protect assets . The alternatives deplete assets with the government programs requiring a person to be in poverty . 