Recently, reality struck close to home. I put my mother in a nursing home this year. I had back surgery within the past year. We have all seen our fellow equestrians suffer life-altering injuries. We are all aging. These situations made me realize how vulnerable we are to the financially devastating circumstances that can be caused by living longer and needing care.

In my research, I was unable to find a company that would offer an association discount for health insurance, but I have developed a relationship with a company that is willing to offer a 5% discount to members of CSDEA who are interested in purchasing Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI). You may be unfamiliar with Long Term Care Insurance, so here is some basic information about what it is, and why you should consider it in your financial planning.

• To protect your assets
• To maintain your independence
• To ease the emotional and financial concerns of your family
• To ensure access to quality care
• To allow your family to care about you, not just care for you

• Self-employed individuals (including LLC, PA, S-Corps and Partnerships) can deduct 100% of the eligible (which is age indexed) premiums for Tax Qualified policies.
• C corporations and non-profit organizations may deduct the entire premium amount for employees, their spouses, and dependents.

The average cost for a nursing home (private room) is around $75,000 a year. For Assisted Living, the cost is between $1500-4300 per month just for room and board, with additional charges for any added services. Home health aides charge about $24.00 per hour. Medicaid does not pay for extended care received at home. It pays only for nursing home care, and only after you have depleted your other assets.

If we should sustain a serious injury that would require extended care, LTCI policies may help ease the emotional and financial burdens. Premiums are based on your age and health at the time you purchase a policy. The longer you wait, the higher the premium. You also risk having your health decline with age, which could eventually make it impossible to purchase such protection.

My specialty is equine insurance. Even though I am licensed for Life/Health insurance, I do not sell Long Term Care Insurance. However, to provide this valuable protection to CSDEA members, I have teamed with two LTCI specialists - Norv and Dottie Henrichs, of Newman Long Term Care. They are nationally recognized among the leading experts in the field. Norv and Dottie can assist you in your investigation of this type of insurance.

We were fortunate to secure John Hancock as our Long Term Care Insurance carrier. John Hancock has been recognized at the largest provider of LTCI in the U.S. With 20 years of experience in the industry, and having already paid more than $2.2 billion in LTCI claims to date, John Hancock is a great match for the CSDEA.

John Hancock will offer a 5% association discount if CSDEA has three applicants within the next 60 days. This will “lock” in the discount offer for other members for one full year. This discount also applies to members’ spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and even in-laws! You only need be a member of CSDEA at the time of the application, and the discount remains in effect for the life of the policy.

Time is of the essence if we want to ensure this discount for our members. If you would like more information, please call me at (763) 557-0709, or visit my web site www.windridgeltd.com, and I will be happy to assist you.