Have You Prepared to Face Nursing Home Costs Yet?

You might think there is still a lot of time to start thinking seriously about your nursing home costs, but certain figures that are going around lately are enough to make any person stop in their tracks and sit down and think. Costs of nursing are simply going up and up. They are already too high currently and they are about to rise steadily over the coming years. Even if you are far from your old age right now, you will most likely have to bear these costs at one time or the other, and then the costs are going to be inflated out of all reasonable proportion.

Consider this-more than half of all Americans will need nursing care for at least a year. Almost a quarter of all Americans will require long term nursing care when they are old. 'Long term' here refers to any period that is more than a year. On an average, the American Association of Retired Persons states that, Americans who stay in nursing care homes spend about two and a half years.

These numbers may not seem so scary to you right now. Maybe you are still thinking about the long time that has to pass before you need any kind of nursing home care. Or, as most people think, you may also be thinking about the uncertainty of life and must be wondering whether you really need to invest in that long a future or not. But how long is that future?

Most Americans start needing nursing home care once they have crossed the age of 65 years. You may be far from this age right now, but consider this-the most ideal time to start planning about life after 65 is as soon as you have crossed 40 years. Now, why is that? It is because when you are 40 and if you seek any long term care insurance, you get to pay very low premiums. The premiums go on becoming higher as your age progresses and, God forbid, if you get any ailment on the way, the premiums are going to go drastically higher. In fact, the American healthcare experts say that the best time to make your old age care financially sound is as soon as you step into your forties.

So, what are the nursing home costs actually? Here are the figures that will intimidate you. The average costs of Americans needing nursing home care fall anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000 a year. That's an amazing amount... it comes to $70 to $140 a day, which is enormous. And if you haven't taken any insurance protection when you are younger, you will need to spend all this amount from whatever savings you have after you are retired.

The figures start becoming scarier now. Imagine that you have to stay in your nursing home for three years. You might be spending like $75,000 to $150,000. To most people that's a life worth of savings. Are you saving money today only so that you can spend it all on your nursing home care after you are older? Certainly not!

There are services like Medicare and Medicaid (which is especially for the financially weak people) that can provide you insurance for any nursing home costs that you might incur when you are older. Don't ignore this essential need. Secure your future and you will be happier.