Long Term Care
The cost most retirement plans quietly ignore. Rusty walks through what long term care actually costs in Arizona and which way of covering it fits your situation.
Medicare Does Not Cover Extended Care.
This is the single most common misunderstanding Rusty runs into. Medicare covers short, skilled, medically-necessary stays. It does not cover extended custodial care, which is what most families actually end up needing, and that cost lands on savings or on family.
Long term care planning is about deciding in advance where that money comes from. Sometimes that means a policy. Sometimes it means a hybrid product that pays a benefit either way. Sometimes, honestly, it means self-funding, and Rusty will say so.
- What Medicare does and does not pay for, spelled out plainly
- Traditional long term care policies compared with hybrid options
- Home care, assisted living, and facility care benefits explained
- An honest answer about whether a policy makes sense for you at all
How Coverage Actually Works
What You Get
- A benefit toward home care, assisted living, or facility care
- Protection for retirement savings you would otherwise spend down
- Hybrid options that pay a death benefit if care is never needed
- A plan that keeps the decision off your family's shoulders
What to Watch For
- Health underwriting: coverage is easier to get the earlier you apply
- Elimination periods, the waiting window before benefits begin
- Benefit caps, daily limits, and whether inflation protection is included
- Traditional premiums can rise, while hybrid pricing usually does not
Common Questions
Not for extended custodial care. Medicare covers limited skilled nursing following a qualifying hospital stay. Ongoing help with daily living is not covered, which is exactly the gap long term care planning addresses.
Underwriting is health-based, so options are broadest while you are still healthy. Most people look at it seriously in their fifties and sixties, though it can make sense earlier or later depending on your situation.
A hybrid combines life insurance with a long term care benefit. If you need care, it pays toward care. If you never do, it pays a death benefit instead, which answers the common objection about paying for something you may never use.
That is a legitimate plan for some people, and Rusty will tell you when it is the right call. The point is deciding deliberately rather than discovering the gap during a crisis.
Related Services
Accident Insurance
Cash benefits for ER visits, urgent care, and rehab after an accident, paid straight to you.
Retirement Income Planning
Where long term care costs fit inside the wider retirement income picture.
Retirees & Pre-Retirees
How Rusty works with clients approaching and living in retirement.
Talk Through Long Term Care
An honest conversation about what care costs in Arizona, what your options are, and whether a policy is the right answer for you.
- Free, no-obligation conversation
- In person, virtual, or over the phone
- Independent advice across 8 carriers and 75 plans
Or call directly: 602-291-5169