Health Care

This type of insurance is relatively new, but becoming popular for people over 60 years old. Long term care provides home custodial care or nursing home care. Long term health care makes sense for those who want to protect their assets for their spouse or children.

Many policies offer "market value coverage" which may not be enough to rebuild your house after a major disaster. You should look for a policy that offers "100% replacement coverage" for both your home and possessions. Also verify that the policy includes an automatic inflation provision. Generally, home insurance policies also include liability coverage to protect you from injuries that occur on your property. The minimum standard of $100,000 may not be enough. Consider increasing it to $300,000, $500,000 or as high as $1,000,000. Get price quotes for the additional coverage amounts. Also consider getting additional riders for items such as jewelry. Generally there is a limited maximum payout on jewelry theft losses. Also consider the geographic location of where you live when considering additional coverage for floods, hurricanes, tornados or earthquakes.

Lenders usually require PMI if the mortgage loan is more than 80% of the home's purchase price. If you do not have the standard 20% down payment, there are ways to avoid the PMI. Speak to your local CPA about the 80-10-10 financing plan and other strategies to avoid the PMI.

A borrower pays (PMI) private mortgage insurance to protect the lender in case of payment default. If you have less than 20% to put down on the purchase of a house, you will be charged with PMI insurance. You can reduce the PMI by getting a fixed rate mortgage instead of a variable mortgage. Also the more you put down as a down payment, even if less than the 20%, this will reduce the amount of the PMI. Make sure there is a provision that allows you to stop paying PMI once the loan is less than 80% of the value of the home.

Employers with 20 or more employees must offer the same benefits, including health benefits under the same conditions, to current or active employees age 65 and over as they offer to younger employees. If they offer coverage to spouses, they must offer the same coverage to spouses age 65 and over that they offer to spouses under 65. If your employer's or employer group's health coverage does not follow this rule, call your regional office of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

Medicare is a national health insurance program for people ages 65+, or younger individuals with certain disabilities. Like most other insurance programs, Original Medicare does not pay for all health care costs. You must pay for deductibles, premiums, coinsurance or copayments. Original Medicare - which includes Parts A and B - does not pay for long term care, extended stays in nursing homes or coverage when outside of the country. Coverage gaps like these are why some people choose to buy additional coverage. You have choices with how you receive Medicare. The first of which is whether to go with Original Medicare or with a Medicare Advantage plan. Once you determine how to receive your primary coverage, you should consider options for prescription drug coverage. Many Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage - you can also enroll in a Medicare Part D plan as an alternative. The options you choose affect the cost and level of your coverage. Go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi for more information.

Depending on where you live, you may have three choices:
The original Medicare plan which is available everywhere in the US; A Medicare managed care plan (similar to a HMO)available in many areas of the country; and A Private Fee-for Service plan offered by a private insurance company.
This third option allows the insurance company, rather than the Medicare program, to decide how much you pay for the services you receive.

PACE is the abbreviation for Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. It is a program that combines both inpatient and outpatient medical and long-term care services.
To be eligible, you must be at least 55 years old, live in the service area of the PACE program, and be certified as eligible for nursing home care by the appropriate state agency.
PACE sites get payments directly from Medicare and Medicaid for services that all eligible enrollees get. PACE sites are only in certain communities.
To find a PACE site, call your local CPA or your state, county, or local medical assistance office.
Do not call a Federal office. Pace locations are also listed under the nursing home section of www.medicare.gov.

Hospital indemnity insurance pays a fixed cash amount for each day you are in a hospital, up to a certain number of days. Some policies may have added benefits such as surgical benefits. Some policies have a maximum payment amount or a limitation with a maximum number of days allowed.