There are three primary ways to pay long-term care:

1.	OUT OF POCKET:
	From your own hard-earned dollars (checking, savings, investments, etc.)
2.	PRIVATE INSURANCE:
	Such as long-term care coverage designed to provide payment for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or home health care.
3.	GOVERNMENT BENEFITS:
	- Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act)- limited medical coverage available (it is age-based and does not cover long-term care). - Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act)- strict eligibility requirements (it is need-based and covers long-term care only if you qualify).

Many people begin paying with out-of-pocket resource and end up spending down assets to a point where they actually qualify for government benefits.

It may be difficult to imagine you or your spouse entering a nursing home, but it can happen to anyone. According to the Boston Globe, 60% of Americans over the age of 65 will need some form of long-term care at one point in their lives. That is three out of every five people over age 65!

For more information about services provided by the experts at Linker Financial Group, Inc. or to schedule a brief, no charge, no obligation consultation to see if Medi-Cal Long Term Care planning is right for you, please give us a call or send us an e-mail right now.