Yes ... you REALLY DO have long term care options!

Taking control of our healthcare & financial futures

Welcome to Part II of my interview with Financial Literacy Expert, Vickie Frazier-Williams.

If you missed Part I, check it out here. We're talking LTC - long term care planning and the who, what, where, when and why's YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT! And, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the KIRC Newsletter to stay in the loop...

Q: If there is an item we MUST understand about long term care policies, what do you believe that is?

Courtesy: Getty Images/Jose Luis Pelaez Inc

A: You need to know what kind of policy you have and what it will cover. The vast majority of long term care companies are out of business. Plans which used to be sold intended to cover you until the very end... those plans don’t even exist anymore. So one of the first things you should do is seek out some advice from an insurance professional.

Q: Can we purchase a plan that actually works for our families?


A: Yes. Unlike many plans in the past, I am able to custom build a long term care policy.

We look at what kind of benefit do you want? $100? $250? Or $1,000 a day benefit - we can build that.

To view the entire interview or to listen to a PODCAST version, visit www.keepingitrealcaregiving.com.

The next thing is - how long do we want this bucket of money to last?

Traditionally a three to five-year period is how long most people stay in a nursing home. Some go longer; some go less. So I might build a three-year plan.

The way it works is that once you go on claim, that money lasts throughout. And depending on your daily benefit, that determines how long the money will last and the kind of care you will have.


EXAMPLE: my mom made a statement a long time ago, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. My mom was like Noah. So she got not one but two long term care policies. They were only $50 a day benefit. But her four daughters... we were able to take care of mom.

We took those different policies and paid for someone four hours in the morning and four hours in the evenings. The rest of the time we filled-in taking care of her. She didn't really know what she was doing but she believed she was going to need some help. Although she had four daughters she didn't want to put that on us ~ Vickie Frazier-Williams

My policies give you 100% control over where your care is going to be; whether that's in a nursing home, your home or adult day care. It is fully adjustable to what YOU need.

Q: What about the costs of coverage? It can be expensive?


A: Some people say LTC is too expensive. And what if I never use it? We can now even build it so that if you don’t use it, you can name a beneficiary who then gets that money that you would have gotten. So there are ways to custom-build a plan based on what someone needs.

Q: I knew I needed coverage - thank goodness I had coverage, but when I needed it the most near the end, I didn’t have the coverage which would have helped the most.

By the time my mother passed, there was a lot of money left on that policy and those dollars are now gone. They were not paid out to a beneficiary. Ironically, what I needed most was a higher daily benefit but that is not what I had purchased because I simply did not understand how expensive care could be. I was covered for just $89 dollars a day. That doesn't go far. Even so, I'm glad I had something in place.

A: Yes, having something is better than nothing. It is not inexpensive but you can work it into your budget.

For instance, I didn’t purchase the Cadillac coverage for myself. It’s just me and my husband, but we figured we should get at the very least a $200 a day benefit. This way, I know I have something.

Q: It can be difficult for someone in their 40's or 50's to think about LTC, but you say we should, and not just for our elders?

A: A long term care policy is not just about taking care of you [or en elder] it is an asset protector. Think about it... one catastrophic incident or a long term care event can wipe your money out.

Vickie Frazier-Williams/Financial Literacy Expert

The whole point is to mitigate that risk. In the same way that we find money for anything we want, you need to make this a priority and you don’t have to throw the whole bank account into it.


Ask yourself the question. If I have an extended care need, how do I handle that? It is a question everyone has to ask and answer. It’s not fun. It’s not easy and it is difficult. But do it while you can make those decisions!


Q: We tend to care for our elders in higher numbers, we are not necessarily married and have those extended family social nets... why should long term care exploration be even more important for women of color?


A: Many of us are single and don't have children. That alone should say - I need to have some contingencies; I need to have something in my back pocket that allows me to live.

Typically women outlive our husbands. And what do we do? We spend time and energy taking care of them. The fact is, we spend a lot of time, money and effort taking care of significant others, and many times we bring them back to health and then we’re broken down.


Some of making these decisions; I call self love. IT’S OKAY to love somebody so much that we want to take care of them. But you can't do any of that stuff if you aren’t taking care of you! So finances are one of the first places you have to take care of yourself!


Q: In closing - three actionable steps we should take RIGHT NOW?

A: Look at what you have and don't have.

• Do you have insurance and if so, what is it? Term or whole life? Seek out a professional for information.

• What about a Power of Attorney? Who is someone you trust that you want to give that kind of power to?

• If you don’t have life insurance, get some. It is not only for who you leave behind it is for you right now - and it is an asset protector.

• Seek out a professional; seek good counsel to figure out what you need.

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Keeping it REAL Caregiving sends a HUGE Thank You to Vickie Frazier-Williams for her guidance and expertise!

The bottom line in this arena is to be smart, take action and not leave anything to chance.


As I and many others like to say, 'knowledge is power,' so the more you can arm yourself before you move into a crisis situation, the better!

Until next time~

Ciao~