Is There Insurance That Will Cover Care for Alzheimer's Disease?

Is There Insurance That Will Cover Care for Alzheimer's Disease?

May 31, 2018

While long-term care policies may provide benefits for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, these policies cannot normally be purchased after someone has been diagnosed. This makes advance planning all the more important.

The Alzheimer's Association estimates that as many as five million Americans are living with the disease, while many more confront other forms of dementia. These sufferers require intensive around-the-clock care and supervision, often for years. This makes dementia one of the most costly chronic conditions to address and as a result, many people are interested in insurance coverage.

Experts such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners suggest that the best strategy for insuring against the financial risks of any degenerative disease (not just Alzheimer's) is to obtain and maintain general purpose long-term care insurance. As with many other forms of insurance, long-term care coverage options become limited or nonexistent once you are diagnosed with a major degenerative condition. One the other hand, the younger and healthier you are when obtaining the insurance, the more affordable the premiums are likely to be. Keep in mind that long-term care insurance generally remains in force only as long as you keep paying its premiums, so consider carefully your financial ability to meet future premium obligations.

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