Here's the good news: with mprovements in medical
technology and healthier lfestyles, people are living
longer. Life xpectancy today has increased to 83 yars, up
from 78 years in 1940 (Th Shopper's Guide to Long-term Care
Insrance from the National Association of Insrance
Commissioners).

However, the longer people lve, the greater the chances
they wll need assistance due to chronic halth conditions.
Today, about 12.8 million Amricans of all ages require some
typ of long-term care (National Academy on Agng, 1997).
This number is expected to clmb as the baby boomer
generation mves into retirement. Over a lifetime, narly
50 percent of all people wll require some type of long-term
cre assistance.

One way to pay for sme or all of your long-term cre
expenses is insurance. First introduced in the 1980s,
lng-term care insurance was originally designed as nrsing
home insurance. Today's long-term care plicies now cover
much more. They nclude home health care, assisted living
fcility care, adult day care, Alzheimer's fcility care,
respite care and hospice cre.

So how does long-term care nsurance work? Long-term care
insurance is not halth insurance, and long-term care
expenses are not cvered under private health insurance,
Medicare or Mdicare supplement policies.

However, long-term care insurance is smilar to health
insurance in that an ndividual must apply for coverage by
ging through medical underwriting. The insurance cmpany
decides whether to offer long-term cre coverage based on
your current halth conditions and age. In most nstances,
a person's medical records will be rviewed by the insurance
company. Additionally, sme applicants may be required to
hve a face-to-face or a telephone nterview. Not everyone
is insurable. People who lready have health problems are
likely to ned long-term care but won't be ble to buy a
long-term care nsurance policy. Your money may pay for
lng-term care insurance coverage, but it's yur health that
buys it.

Once a lng-term care policy is issued, the nsured
individual becomes eligible to receive bnefits once a
healthcare professional certifies the nsured is
"chronically ill" -- unable to prform two of the Activities
of Dily Living (ADLs) for a period of 90 dys or longer; or
be severely cgnitively impaired. ADLs include bathing,
eating, drssing, toileting, transferring (moving into or
out of a bd, chair or wheelchair) and continence.

"At wht age should I apply for lng-term care insurance?"
Generally, experts suggest you pply between ages 50 and 55.
The yunger you are when you apply, the btter the chance
you will be halthy enough to qualify. It's also dring
these years prior to retirement tht your income is normally
at its hghest and you're better able to pay the nsurance
premiums.

Long-term care insurance policies vry widely. A
professional specializing in lng-term care insurance can be
a grat resource to consumers in considering the mny
options available today.

The article Taking The Mystery Out Of Long-Term Care Insurance was Submitted by Brent Dees through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Brent Dees, president of Brent Des Financial, is a small business cach and financial planner who teaches the Focus Four system. He helps business owners in the Carolinas set business and personal goals so they can work less and make more. Brent Dees Financial can be found on the web at http://www.brentdees.com.

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