Taking Long Term Care for Women Seriously
Article by Zyra Scott
Very few women get to retire rich and free to pursue their hobbies and travel the world. Most grow old with smaller nest eggs or worse empty-handed. For that reason, long term care for women is a subject that should be taken seriously and planned carefully by all women across the nation.
Indeed, women’s health care is a national issue since women these days outlive the men. So if you are 65 years old today, you can expect her to live for another 19 years while men can look forward to 13 more years.
Good news? Not so because living longer makes an individual susceptible to various geriatric diseases. Women are more prone to hypertension, diabetes, and heart diseases especially if she is the caregiver of a family member and works nine to 12 hours daily.
They can also possibly acquire dementia such as Alzheimer’s which is common among individuals who are past the age of 65. Having this type of health disorder will subject an individual to five or 10 years of care and mind you, the cost of care for this type of sickness can wipe out your lifetime savings.
Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of women have responsibly secured a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, not to mention over 13% of them have retired early to focus on caring for an elderly or disabled loved one.
By retiring early from work, one’s chances of securing a good plan for her future health care needs are very low. She can neither avail of the employer-sponsored group LTCI nor afford an individual policy anymore because her funds won’t be enough to satisfy its annual premium.
Long Term Care for Women
Statistics show that more women grow old alone and wind up in nursing homes. As a matter of fact, the Medicaid Department of the State of New York’s data revealed that 80% of nursing home residents are women.
Why many women end up in nursing homes has a simple explanation and that is the fact that there is no one in their lives to take care of them.
Majority of American families rely on their mothers, wives and daughters for care. Women’s capacity to care is, after all, not limited to their spouses, parents and children. They will go the extra mile to ensure that their siblings and in-laws are receiving the kind of care which they require.
Since most women are always after the welfare of their loved ones, they would rather sacrifice their jobs or careers to be able to take care of the members of their families that require long term care (LTC). This act is absolutely worthy of praise but if the process of caring for the people you love entails neglecting your own needs, perhaps you should consult an expert on the field of LTC.
Your state’s Area Agency on Aging is also a good source of help as it can recommend the best LTC services for uninsured individuals from the age of 60 and over. You can entrust your uninsured loved one’s health care needs to this federal health program and focus on long term care for women and how to start your plan.
About the Author
There are lots of advantages that you can reap from having a long term care plan as early as possible before any signs of disability or illness appears. Visit our website for more tips and advice on preparing for long term care