Alzheimer's and Long Term Care Planning

December 13, 2012

Parsippany, NJ

Did you know that the leading cause of long term care insurance claims is cognitive impairment, a category of malady that includes dementia and Alzheimer's?  More than 50% of claims arise as a result of cognitive impairment, as opposed to bodily limitations.

The term "Alzheimer's disease" is often used rather loosely to describe any kind of dementia whatsoever in elders. Although Alzheimer's is the most common form - accounting for an estimated 60-80% of cases - there are several other types of dementia found typically in the elderly, including Lewy bodies, Parkinson's, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and mixed dementia.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior, eventually resulting in the inability to perform daily tasks. Since there is no known cure, the progressive disability ends only with the death of the afflicted individual.   

THE ODDS

Forty-five percent (45%) of people age 85 and over have Alzheimer's disease.  An estimated 4% of people diagnosed with it are under age 65, and 44 percent are ages 75-84.

A 65-year-old woman who currently shows no sign of dementia has a 20% chance of developing some form of it during the remainder of her lifetime (17% for men). 

Is it any wonder that many people fear any signs of senility, and are in denial about the need to plan for long term care?

A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY FROM FAMILY HISTORY

Are there no family members suffering from memory issues in your family?  Does everyone in your clan die from cancer?  Some people have convinced themselves that "no one in my family has developed Alzheimer's, so I don't have to worry about it."  What they often haven't considered is this:  maybe because your family members succumbed to heart attacks or cancer, they didn't live long enough to develop cognitive impairment issues.  Advances in medicine now cure us or extend our lifetimes, sometimes long enough to develop the diseases of old age (such as Alzheimer's) that our forbears avoided.

INSURERS DON'T CONSIDER FAMILY HISTORY - YET

Currently, family history does not impact insurability for long term care insurance (that is, whether or not your application is approved), or premium rates.  But that may change in the future.  If you consider the fact that family history has long been a part of underwriting for life insurance, then it is reasonable to assume that long term care insurers will incorporate some of these same practices in years to come.

A word to the wise, therefore, clearly can be gleaned from this:  If anyone in your family has had any level of memory issues, get your long term care insurance before it becomes a consideration in the underwriting process!  Once a policy is issued, neither coverage nor premiums can be modified due to a change in health - or current underwriting practices.

IN SUMMARY

Long term care needed as a result of Alzheimer's or other dementia is the elephant in the room.  Almost everyone knows someone affected by senility in old age. 

Sure as hearing aids and cataracts, cognitive impairment is undeniably a fact of old age for many.

I'm not being insensitive or cavalier by imploring: don't forget to plan for long term care.