Older, Wealthy Adults: Create a Long Term Healthcare Plan for You and Your Spouse

Recent posts from me have talked about financial ways that wealthy Americans over age 65 can protect their spouse’s and their own health. I started by telling you that protecting the health of a spouse is among the highest priorities for people age 65 and older and who are wealthy.

One reason a spouse’s healthcare is such a huge priority is today’s cost of healthcare. That cost is extremely high and that’s a concern for every older American regardless of their financial means. The American Association for Retired People (AARP) reports that the bankruptcy rate is growing fastest among Americans older than 65. The main culprit? Healthcare costs. In fact, healthcare costs are the driving force behind 48% of those bankruptcies. So the wealthy have strong motivation to plan for their spouse’s and their own healthcare costs.

You may have read some or all of the three previous tactics I gave in earlier posts. One was to consider Medicare supplement insurance. A second idea was to look into Medicare’s Part D prescription drug plans. The third idea was to consider a Medicare Advantage plan. Now let’s talk about a fourth way to financially protect your spouse’s health as you age.

Create a long term plan
Do you know what the most expensive and riskiest part of our healthcare system is? It may well be having your spouse or you confined for a long stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility. Annual costs can run $75,000 in some states. A multi-year stay could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You can greatly reduce that risk with long term care (LTC) insurance. In Connecticut try the Connecticut Partnership for Long Term Care. Here are some quick tips on LTC insurance:

1. If you can afford it, get covered for $200 a day
Full-time custodial care often costs that much.


2. Look for policies that cover a wide range of care. It’s usually best to get a plan with benefits that protect you from the costs of home health care, assisted living care, adult day care and other forms of care.

3. Consider policies that protect you against inflation The benefits in many LTC policies rise with inflation.

None of us likes to think about growing older or having health issues in the future. Yet all of us are growing older and will have some type of health issue to deal with in the future. Take action now. Especially if you are 65 or older, wealthy and want to protect the health of your spouse. If that description fits you then you have great options. 

For more information you can always call me, Gene Offredi CFP, RFC at Summit Investor Coach in Guilford at 203.453.1017.