The Pacella Law Group

Our Los Angeles followers may have reads posts in this blog in which we remind people that estate planning is something that a person or a couple should do to arrange for asset transfer during their life or at death. A well-thought-out estate plan also addresses the issues of health care-related matters should incapacitation occur. Long-term health care insurance is frequently an element of an estate plan.

According to knowledgeable sources, long-term health care insurance is expected to rise in California for our state’s public employees. The increase in cost could come as soon as 2015 and could be as much as a 75 percent increase. There are several reasons for this.

According to the U.S. Department o f Health and Human Services, 70 percent of those who are older than 65 will eventually will need long-term care. This can be costly. Some estimate that nursing home care can be $75,000 per year or more. People are living longer, and that has a price.

The cost of servicing aging employees and retirees has caused financial difficulties for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. CalPERS began in the 1990s but has accepted no new customers since 2008 as it tries to fix the financial holes in the program.

Those seniors who bought long-term health insurance may feel a bit trapped. At 80 years old, an individual would find the cost of acquiring new insurance to be cost prohibitive. CalPERS may offer the option of either keeping existing coverage at an increased cost, or keeping payments the same but lowering the coverage options.

Either way, this is more proof that estate planning is a multi-faceted activity which can be made easier with the help of a seasoned legal professional.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, “CalPERS weighs huge premium hike for long-term care,” Dale Kasler, Oct. 4, 2012

• Our Calabasas law firm represents individuals with a full range of estate planning needs including wills, trusts, gifts and long-term care issues.