There is a good article today in the Star Tribune of the Twin Cities area covering long-term care insurance and the overall long-term care quandary we face as a nation with respect to aging and its huge associated costs.  We’re not alone in our aging population though.

Yesterday I was listening to an analyst from UBS who studies aging and demographic trends.  The premise of the Bloomberg podcast was that aging in America will have enormous complications in the future to our economy and our infrastructure.  Baby boomers have not done an adequate job in reproducing themselves, leading to a future problem.  Many refer to the children of the baby boomers as the “echo” and they are merely a replacement to their parents.

Because of all this, we face future economic issues as a country.  However, as individuals, we can purchase long-term care insurance and protect our families.  The article comments emphasize an important point: buy long-term care when you are healthy.  Statistically, this should be in your 40s or 50s.  When we look at people in their 60s, about 25% are uninsurable by this point.  By the 70s, almost half of applicants who want long-term care insurance cannot get it - they are declined by the carriers.

The surprising fact for many is that China is on the path to an even worse future than America with regards to population growth trends.  In fact, in just a few years, India will surpass China in population.  China is shrinking and will have some serious difficulties starting in about 2040.

The problem with China is that China does not have long-term care insurance; we should all feel fortunate to live in a country where we have institutions like LTC insurance.  As the article states, last year, more than 180,000 policyholders received over $3.5 billion in long-term care benefits.

The health care system that deals with long term care is already stressed by current requirements.  A report released today by the Washington Post predicts that 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s, requiring a serious look at long term care, long term care insurance, and the nation’s health care system in general.  The report, released Tuesday by the Alzheimer’s Association, showed that the disease is now the seventh deadliest in the nation and that women are at greater risk than men.

With one in eight boomers developing Alzheimer’s as they age, there is a serious need now, more than ever, to look into long-term care insurance to pay for the long stay often required when the mind-wasting disease strikes.  We wrote about how you can stretch a policy and now may be a good time to revisit that article.  Alzheimer’s patients can have long-term care stays of as long as many years, going way beyond the 3-5 years typically associated with other ailments that activate long-term care benefits.

Today in article in The Gazette of Colorado Springs talks of new home health care businesses coming in to Colorado Springs.  This growing sector of the economy is a hot bed for entreprenuers and is expected to continue to grow as baby-boomers begin to age and need the services of home health aides.  Long-term care insurance can pay for such care, which can be costly.

Home health care agencies send workers to homes, nursing homes and retirement facilities to deliver nursing and medical care for people with chronic diseases, infants, the disabled, patients recovering from surgery or injury, and the aging. Agencies might also supply employees to assist with daily living skills such as bathing, dressing and transportation.

Today, home health care is a $54 billion business.  What’s astounding is that the home health care industry is expected to double in the next five years!  The reason: all 76 million of the aging baby boomers are beginning to retire and more and more will begin to need assistance at home.

In Colorado, costs are running about $125 per day on average.  As the patient ages, it may be necessary to move from the home to an assisted living facility.  The idea of home health care is to stay in the comfortable environ of your home as long as possible.