How to qualify my mom for long-term care insurance
December 4, 2009 6:51 PM Subscribe
My parents are considering long-term care insurance. The problem is that my mom may not qualify because she uses a walker. Is this legal? Any experience with long-term care insurance and pre-existing conditions?
More details: She is 67, he is 65. She suffered from polio when she was 7, which left her mostly healthy but with a leg that has nerve/muscle damage. She started using the walker about 5 years ago. She also doesn't drive, due to peripheral vision loss (perhaps caused by some falls she had before she started using the walker). My dad would qualify, although he has had a heart attack.
I'm the only child, and I'm feeling overwhelmed about this. Any advice is appreciated!
More details: She is 67, he is 65. She suffered from polio when she was 7, which left her mostly healthy but with a leg that has nerve/muscle damage. She started using the walker about 5 years ago. She also doesn't drive, due to peripheral vision loss (perhaps caused by some falls she had before she started using the walker). My dad would qualify, although he has had a heart attack.
I'm the only child, and I'm feeling overwhelmed about this. Any advice is appreciated!
You might ask her if they told her it was because she uses a walker, or because she's had polio. There have been people denied long-term care insurance because they've had polio, and so are susceptible to post-polio syndrome. You might look here and here, to start.
I believe it is not illegal to refuse insurance to a person who the insurer considers to be too much of a risk, as insurance is all about risk. If they did offer it to her, it might be much more than she could afford. For example, people who live in areas that flood all the time, or people who get into lots of car accidents, may get insured but at super-high rates. She can probably get insurance (Lloyd's of London, I believe, will insure just about anything, for a cost) but it would cost dearly.
posted by Houstonian at 7:24 PM on December 4, 2009
I believe it is not illegal to refuse insurance to a person who the insurer considers to be too much of a risk, as insurance is all about risk. If they did offer it to her, it might be much more than she could afford. For example, people who live in areas that flood all the time, or people who get into lots of car accidents, may get insured but at super-high rates. She can probably get insurance (Lloyd's of London, I believe, will insure just about anything, for a cost) but it would cost dearly.
posted by Houstonian at 7:24 PM on December 4, 2009
Can you get LTCI with a pre-existing condition? Yes, you can. My wife and I just bought some earlier this year, and she has Type I diabetes. Some insurers would not accept diabetics, period (even with no complications & the disease well-managed). But our agent found one which would, Mutual of Omaha. (I think it was MetLife and/or John Hancock which balked. We are in NY, btw.)
We are young, though (early 30s). It may be a lot harder for your folks to find coverage, and even if they do, it will be fairly expensive (as Houstonian suggests). But LTCI is a really, really good idea, and worth looking into. I would take HuronBob up on his offer and talk to his agent. The agent will know a ton, and you don't have to pay them anything. If your folks aren't in Michigan, I'm sure he'll be able to offer you a refferal.
A couple of thoughts: While it will of course cost more overall, it is likely that if both of your parents sign up, the cost for each would be cheaper than if your mom signs up alone. (It would also be wise!) If you (and a spouse?) also sign up, the agent may be able to get the insurance company to knock a few more bucks off. There are all kinds of options which make LTCI more or less expensive - your agent will be able to explain them to you. It may be that to find something affordable, you have to make the plan less appealing - but on the plus side, at least you have that flexibility.
Also, there are organizations out there where, just by being a member, you get discounts on insurance (like being a member of AAA gets you hotel discounts). I think my wife signed up for something like the National Assocation of Professional Women (or some group with some similar name) for maybe a one-time fee of $25 and we got maybe 5 or 10% off the whole package. Huge savings, and no, the insurance company won't require you to submit annual proof of membership. :)
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:38 PM on December 4, 2009
We are young, though (early 30s). It may be a lot harder for your folks to find coverage, and even if they do, it will be fairly expensive (as Houstonian suggests). But LTCI is a really, really good idea, and worth looking into. I would take HuronBob up on his offer and talk to his agent. The agent will know a ton, and you don't have to pay them anything. If your folks aren't in Michigan, I'm sure he'll be able to offer you a refferal.
A couple of thoughts: While it will of course cost more overall, it is likely that if both of your parents sign up, the cost for each would be cheaper than if your mom signs up alone. (It would also be wise!) If you (and a spouse?) also sign up, the agent may be able to get the insurance company to knock a few more bucks off. There are all kinds of options which make LTCI more or less expensive - your agent will be able to explain them to you. It may be that to find something affordable, you have to make the plan less appealing - but on the plus side, at least you have that flexibility.
Also, there are organizations out there where, just by being a member, you get discounts on insurance (like being a member of AAA gets you hotel discounts). I think my wife signed up for something like the National Assocation of Professional Women (or some group with some similar name) for maybe a one-time fee of $25 and we got maybe 5 or 10% off the whole package. Huge savings, and no, the insurance company won't require you to submit annual proof of membership. :)
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:38 PM on December 4, 2009
If they are offered a policy, I would look very carefully at the annual and lifetime caps and other limitations. A policy that seems reasonably priced can prove fairly useless if the coverage caps are too low to pay for the level of care that your folks may need in the future.
posted by zachlipton at 1:20 AM on December 5, 2009
posted by zachlipton at 1:20 AM on December 5, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
That said.... I'm also in the Ann Arbor area... if your folks are in Michigan, memail me, I would be glad to recommend an excellent agent that I trust (he is an old friend and handles my agencies retirement plan, health insurance, and disability insurance)...
posted by HuronBob at 7:16 PM on December 4, 2009