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Have you tried to talk to your dad or mom about their long term care (LTC) plan, only they pushed you aside before you can say what’s on your mind? Long term care planning for seniors in your family is more difficult than planning your own health care needs. As people get older they become more sensitive and frightened of the thought of being alone or sent away to a nursing home. If you’re going to sit down with them and lay out the offerings of every single nursing home and assisted living facility in your area, it’s not going to work. In fact, it will only make them feel worse. The best way to bring up the topic of LTC planning to your folks is while you’re out taking a walk, driving, or while having ice cream or coffee with them. Be natural but empathic. Perhaps you can tell them that you’ve started to inquire about a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy because you found out that the cost of care is going to shoot up fourfold in the next 20 years. Then in a subtle way ask them about the progress of their LTC plan. If they tell you they don’t have one keep yourself from showing exasperation. One thing that really annoys older folks is being treated like kids and this is precisely why majority of them vehemently refuse to enter a nursing home. If you find out that your parents have not taken a single step in LTC planning, stay calm and show them the advantages of having a good plan. Long Term Care Planning for Seniors There is a fine line between planning your parents’ LTC needs and planning with them. Of course, they would prefer the latter because the former shows very little if no respect at all for them. If you tell your folks that you’re going to get them a joint LTCI policy that would be planning for them. Meanwhile, if you say you’ve inquired with an insurance firm and found out that healthy people like yourself and they your parents can save a chunk on the annual premium of a policy, then that would be planning with them. Always include yourself in the matter. For example, you can joke about the percentage of elderly Americans who prefer in-home care by saying you’ll be an addition to the present count in 30 years. Then gradually segue the conversation into their direction by asking if they also happen to be among the 90% who would rather receive care at home than in an LTC facility. Treating long term care as a normal occurrence in life will make your parents realize that there is nothing wrong with people who require this type of care. It will make them understand that as people get older they just can’t help but get weaker especially if they have a health disorder which hinders them from functioning the way they used to. Once your parents have started to express interest in the subject of LTC, listen to what they have to say. Long term care planning for seniors requires a great deal of patience, understanding and love.
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