A recent study by the Alzheimer’s Association reports that the number of people living with Alzheimer’s in the United States will nearly double in the coming years, with 10 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. alone projected to be inflicted with the disease. What’s more, the association reports that average cost for a private, one-bedroom unit in an assisted living residence was nearly $3,000 per month, or more than $35,000 per year, in 2007.
Of course, Alzheimer’s is just one of the afflictions that can require long-term care expenses that often have devastating financial impact for seniors. MDRT members can be part of the solution by encouraging our Baby Boomer clients to consider long-term care insurance and other Lifeboats now, before it is too late.
According to elder law attorney and long-term care expert Harley Gordon,we can do a better job of getting clients to think about long-term care insurance by presenting it in the same way we approach them about life insurance.
“You don’t have to spend a lot of time educating a reasonable person who loves his family about what the consequences of not having life insurance are,” said Gordon at the Boomertirement Summit in April 2007. “You see, risk falls by the wayside with life insurance. Risk needs to fall by the wayside with long-term care insurance. And the way to start doing that is not to talk about long-term care insurance.”
“What you have to talk about is long-term care.”
Get more of Harley’s expertise and perspective on long-term care insurance via our new Boomertirement Podcasts [link to page when it is ready]! More in-depth information is available on the Lifeboats page of the Boomertirement Report.
