Long-Term Care and Home Health Care Coverage in New Mexico
What it is
Long-term care coverage pays for help with daily living, such as bathing, dressing, meals and mobility, whether that help comes at home, in an assisted living community or in a nursing facility. Medicare covers short-term skilled care after a hospital stay, but it doesn't pay for the months or years of custodial care most people eventually need. In the Albuquerque area, assisted living commonly runs several thousand dollars a month and in-home aides are billed by the hour, which is why families run through savings quickly. Medigap Options explains the two main ways to cover it: traditional long-term care policies, and hybrid policies that combine life insurance or an annuity with a care benefit so the premium isn't lost if care is never needed.
Book a Free ConsultationWhen it makes sense
The right time to look at long-term care coverage is usually in your late 50s to late 60s, while you're healthy enough to qualify and premiums are still reasonable. It matters most if you'd like to stay in your own home with help rather than move, if you don't want a spouse or adult children to become full-time caregivers, or if you want to protect savings and a house from being spent down before Medicaid would step in. Doug's own family has used long-term care benefits, so he's seen the difference a paid policy makes for the people doing the caregiving.
What you need to enroll
Qualifying requires health underwriting, so Doug will ask about current conditions and medications before recommending a carrier. You'll choose a daily or monthly benefit amount, a benefit period, and an elimination period, which works like a deductible measured in days. Hybrid policies are often funded with a single premium or ten annual payments and can be a fit for people who've been turned down for traditional coverage. There's no fee to review options with Medigap Options, and the first meeting is about understanding what you'd want care to look like, not choosing a policy.
Get Your Free Consultation
Tell Doug where you are with Medicare and he will personally reach out. No cost, no obligation.