Long term care insurance

[Jackfishem]

My mom passed away in January of 2017 after a year long battle with ALS. Her brain was autopsied and markers of the c9 mutation were found. Now that I know what to test for, I would like to have genetic testing done.

I know I need to obtain long term care insurance before the testing and would like recommendations and advice from folks who are currently utilizing LTC insurance or have used in the past. Specificially, what company would you recommend or not recommend? Is there a particular policy that has been beneficial? Are there any questions I should be asking?

The choices are overwhelming and comparing companies isn't really comparing apples to apples. Any guidance you could provide would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Nikki J]

My sister had John Hancock and they did right by her. She was lucky I think that the intake nurse had lost a friend to ALS so knew what was coming. I have it too but have not yet used it btw we are a c9 family though c9 was not discovered when we got the policies.

Look at your own circumstances and decide when you want the waiting period to be. My sister had a number of days of homecare she had to pay before it kicked in. She would have been better with my policy which pays for homecare at once and has the waiting period when/ if you end up in a facility but if a facility is in the future it might be cheaper to pay for the homecare.

I believe prices have risen a lot since we bought ours. For my sister it was very beneficial as she got ALS after only a few years of paying a fairly low premium. Do some math and be realistic about your resources financial and human.

Another thought is to look into genetic studies that will test but it wouldn't go into your medical record unless you told your doctor and at the least one has it set up so you can legally say no to any insurance questions. That is Miami and you commit before testing that if positive you will be part of the longterm study. Let me know if you want info on genetic studies

 

[Jackfishem]

As usual, Nikki, your input is most valuable! I had no clue about the Miami testing not going into your medical records. I think you may have sent me the info on that program right after my mom's diagnosis. Are there many details on their website or would I need to call for specific information?

 

[Nikki J]

I sent you a pm