New York, Wisconsin Update LTC Guides

By Staff Writer

November 02, 2001 at 07:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, Nov. 2, 11:29 a.m. – The insurance departments in New York and Wisconsin have updated their long-term care insurance guides.

Both guides support the concept of residents buying LTC coverage.

The guide issued by Wisconsin regulators suggests that LTC insurance is not just for the elderly.

"The chances of needing long-term care usually increase as you age, but long-term care may be needed at any age," according to the Wisconsin guide.

"It is important to recognize that at some time in your life you may require long-term care services. Therefore, you should think about how to pay for this care."

The New York guide starts with a letter from Gov. George Pataki.

"Long term care is very expensive, and most people cannot afford to privately pay for long term care services for very long," Pataki writes.

"In New York State, skilled nursing facilities currently charge over $214 per day on average or $78,000 per year or more," Pataki adds. "It is estimated that persons in nursing homes stay 2 1/2 years on average ?The chance of needing some type of long term care services is fairly high."

Both guides can be obtained from the state insurance department Web sites.

The New York guide is available at http://207.111.44.7/chealth.htm

The Wisconsin guide is available at http://badger.state.wi.us/agencies/oci/pub_list/pi-047.htm

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