There’s a difference between Lifecare and long-term care insurance that can be confusing for many people. What does each cover? Is there an overlap? How do you decide what coverage or combination is best for you and your spouse? Is the price of long term care in retirement predictable? At Willow Valley Communities, we strive to be transparent in care and costs so you can make the best decision for your family.
Protect Yourself From Rising Costs of Long Term Care In Retirement
Lifecare is Willow Valley Communities’ comprehensive contract that provides personal care, memory care, or skilled nursing care, if you need it, without increasing your monthly fee because of the need for the enhanced level of care. While Lifecare doesn’t cover medical costs, it protects you from the ever-escalating costs of long-term care in retirement because it’s included in your predictable monthly service fee. At some senior living communities, a fee-for-service model often charges you a daily rate for supportive living that can add up quickly and deplete your assets. Willow Valley Communities’ Type A Lifecare contract offers financial security because, even if your need for a higher level of care increases, your monthly service fee does not increase because of the heightened level of support.
Long-term care insurance is an insurance plan that can be customized to your future healthcare needs. A robust long-term care plan may be vital to you if you don’t live at Willow Valley Communities, but read on to discover why you may not need an unlimited policy at Willow Valley Communities.
Keeping Some Long-term Care Insurance at Willow Valley Communities
Lifecare covers personal care, skilled care, short-term rehabilitation, and memory care, whereas long-term care insurance covers everything already listed, plus homecare and adult day care. Keeping some long-term care insurance at Willow Valley Communities may pay for in-home care, equipment (walker, wheelchair, etc.), physical therapy, occupational therapy, a private duty nurse, and home modifications (ramp, door change, etc.), while Lifecare handles room, board, and daily care. In addition, since most long-term care insurance policies are reimbursement policies, your policy may pay for a portion of your monthly fee at Willow Valley Communities.
If you choose to move to a senior living community offering a Lifecare (Type A) contract, like Willow Valley Communities, you may want to consider calling your insurance company to discuss options for scaling back your coverage, and thus lowering your premium, rather than completely dropping your plan.
What Should I Do Next?
When you move to Willow Valley Communities, you have choices. You can keep your current policy, or you can work with your insurance company to decrease your cost of long-term care insurance and potentially save money by changing some of the benefits. You could accomplish this by:
- Eliminating inflation protection
- Adjusting the benefit period to a lesser amount of time
- Changing the daily or monthly benefit to a lesser amount
Depending on the plan, some choose to eliminate portions of their policy for the range of services that Lifecare provides. Willow Valley Communities resident and former long-term care insurance executive Dr. Jack Stern says, “Long-term care insurance is a gift you can give your kids if you don’t live at Willow Valley Communities. Living at Willow Valley Communities is the best gift you can give your kids…period.”
Decide what is right for you
If you’re interested in learning more about Willow Valley Communities’ unique Lifecare promise and the lifestyle in our award winning, amenity-rich community, we invite you to learn more on our website or by contacting a sales counselor for more information.
Please Note: These articles and postings are provided for general educational purposes only, and all contract & pricing information is subject to change. The information presented in this article does not constitute investment advice, and the ideas and strategies are intended to be used in conjunction with professional financial consultation based on an individual’s personal and financial circumstances. Please contact a sales counselor to get the most up-to-date information on Willow Valley Communities contracts and pricing.
