In a poll which was recently conducted among Californians from ages 40 and onwards, majority of voters admitted that they are weary of the cost of California long term care.

The poll, which was conducted on behalf of the SCAN Foundation and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, aims to find out what people who are nearing retirement need in terms of healthcare. Somehow it also served as an avenue for people’s thoughts on the subject of growing old and the cost of care.

When it comes to being prepared for tomorrow’s cost of care, only handful can say they are ready. Unfortunately, 85% of them who are over the age of 60 admitted that they do not have a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, and that they don’t intend to self-insure either because their nest egg isn’t sufficient enough for the daily, monthly and annual rates of LTC services and facilities.

According to them the continuous downswing of the economy triggers pessimism and they honestly do not know how to deal with the cost of care 20 or 30 years down the road.

If you’ve been keeping abreast of news related to long term care (LTC), perhaps you are already aware that 20 years from now the cost of care will quadruple. Anybody in California who is currently paying $25 per hour for a home health aide to assist him in the activities of daily living is lucky because beginning 2030 Californians who will opt for in-home care should be ready to shell out $100 an hour for this type of care.

Even an assisted living facility is going to be a pain to your finances in the future. Senior citizens who are currently in this type of LTC setting are paying out $3,500 or $42,000 per annum. If you qualify for LTC in 2030 you’ll be forking over $168,000 for a year’s stay in an assisted living facility.

Nursing homes, on the other hand, will soon be exclusive for those who are financially capable. Right now, Medicaid’s elderly LTC beneficiaries in nursing homes are gradually being moved back to either their homes or to community-based LTC facilities to curb the program’s expenses.

Preparing for California Long Term Care

Back to the result of the poll, 73% of voters fear losing their independence as they age, but at the same time they also fear not being able to receive the type of care that they would need someday because they couldn’t afford it.

Long term care specialists can only advise one thing to aging Californians and that is to come up with a plan for their health. It doesn’t necessarily have to be through LTCI. They can consider their IRA, retirement savings, reverse mortgages, or annuities. Basically anything that will help lessen the impact of LTC costs on their finances is good enough.

However, if you are young, in good health and earning a good monthly income it would be wise to invest in an LTCI policy as this guarantees an extensive LTC coverage. California long term care costs will continue to rise but it should not wear you down. Contact your LTCI agent and study your options.