If anybody in your family needs nursing care, you may already know that it is costly. The price of nursing homes or, even, home health care, can wipe out savings very quickly. It is important to plan for this future need.

Should you be concerned about the cost of nursing care now? There is good news and bad news. We are expected to live longer than people did, even 10 years ago. But we may also have an increased chance of needing some type of nursing care. This could be in a nursing faciity, or it it could be in an assisted living facility. Even if we can opt for health care at home, it will come with a price!

You may figure that you have saved enough to cover this care. But $100 a day bills can add up pretty fast, and most middle income families have not saved enough money to last for very long.

Other people may think a government program will help them if they need nursing care Medicare will pay for short term needs, but not long ones. Medicaid pays for nursing homes, but a patient needs to wipe out their savings to qualify for it.

Relying on savings or the government do not seem like great solutions to me. If a person needs to spend months, or years, under nursing care, they can wipe out a lifetime of savings very quickly.

Now there is a new program called the CLASS act. This was included in health reform. But this plan will not be implemented for years. In addition, there is probably going to be a waiting period before a member can collect benefits. It is also expected to be capped at fifty dollars a day. Since nursing homes cost double this, or more, today, it is not going to be a total solution even if you could use it today.

So how can you protect your assets and your family? One solution is called long term care insurance (LTCi). There are a variety of plans. They have different benefits and coverage levels. You can even use the premiums from some of these plans as tax breaks. This may be a good solution for some families.

There are also some other alternatives. Some annuities have nursing care riders (options) that can help you save for retirement and plan for nursing care. Even some life insurane policies can be used for this because they may have clauses that you can use some of the death benefit while you are still alive to pay for care in the case of terminal or severe illness. You may decide that this a better alternative for you.

There are ways to plan for a future need for nursing care. This is not one right answer for every person or every family. The right choice for you depends upon your lifestyle, needs, and budget. But it would pay, in the long run, to research your choices now and take some action!