About LTCI

Why Buy LTCI?

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Family Protection

Why Consider LTCI Insurance?

Increased Longevity Risk Comparisons Lack of Government Assistance New Tax Incentives Discounts for Good Health Protect Your Assets

Increased Longevity

The graying of America is evident in the statistics that most people who are alive today will live to be age 85 or older. Increased age comes with increased odds that you may require long-term care. On average, 70% of all people who are over 65 today will need long-term care.[1] Long-term care is not always administered in a nursing home. In fact, most long-term care is actually provided at home.[2] Elder care will replace childcare as the #1 dependent care issue in the next century because 1 out of 3 workers will be caring for an aging family member.

How does Long Term Care compare to other common risks?

For every 1,000 people...

1 will have a House Fire[3]	30 will have an Auto Accident[4]	690 will need Long Term Care[5]
Average loss is $17,252[6]	Average loss is $4,204[7]	Average cost is $39,000-$76,000 /yr.[8]

Lack of Government Assistance

Medicaid was enacted to provide health care services for the impoverished of our nation. Legislation has made it extremely difficult for a person of modest means to qualify for Medicaid benefits by gifting or otherwise disposing of personal assets for less than fair market value. Even gifts to one's spouse do not help, since the combined assets of couples must fall within the eligibility levels. These levels range from a minimum of about $20,000 to a maximum of about $104,000 and are selected by each state. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provided for additional restrictions. Effective January 1, 1997, federal law imposed criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly disposes of assets in order to become eligible for Medicaid, if disposing of the assets results in the imposition of a period of ineligibility for Medicaid benefits.

Tax Incentives

To encourage Americans to plan for their own long term care needs and to ensure that long term care insurance has value for the future, the HIPAA legislation provides tax incentives to purchasers and has defined the various benefits available to provide standard value for the consumer. What is the message? Take care of your long term care needs with private insurance, because there may not be enough money to create a new entitlement program for everyone.

2008 LTCI Tax Deduction Limits

According to Jesse Slome, president of Sales Creators and author of The Accountant's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, "the fastest growing segment of long -term care insurance sales has been to business owners and others who can now deduct the cost of this valuable protection."

"Many accountants and CPAs are unaware of the rules and limits pertaining to the deductibility of long-term care insurance premiums," Slome notes. "Successful LTCi specialists find they can be an outstanding source of referrals once they understand the benefits to their clients and, now is the ideal time to connect before the tax season gets underway."

For 2008, the deductible limits as published in IRS Revenue Procedure 2007-66 will be:

Footnotes

1.   "Understanding Long-Term Care", National Clearing house for Long-Term Care Information, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Page 1, March 2008
2.   Ibid, Page 2
3.  Floods and Your Family, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2008
4.  Ibid
5.  P. Kemper, H.L. Komisar and L. Alecxih, "Long-Term Care Over an Uncertains Future: What Can Current Retirees Expect?", Page 342, 2005
6.  "The U.S. Fire Problem", National Fire Protection Association, March 2008
7.  "Collision Losses", Highway Loss Data Institute, 2007
8.  Genworth Financial, Cost of Care Summary 2008, Page 1