Before you decide whether long term care insurance is for you, you probably are wondering what long term care is. Fortunately it's relatively easy to find answers to this question by searching on the Internet. Unfortunately, what you read about long term care may not be accurate, or maybe it's too confusing. Or worse yet, you're frantically looking into LTC insurance because suddenly you find yourself in a position of need and you just don't have time to really research and understand what LTC insurance covers or whether you even need it.

What is Long Term Care?According to Wikipedia, long term care is defined as, "A variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods of time." Basically, anyone who develops disabilities or chronic care needs resulting from conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Related Dementia (ADRD), Parkinson's and other central nervous system conditions, stroke, broken hips or related Injuries (Osteoporosis, joint replacement, etc.) may be in need of long term care. In short, LTC is the care people need when they are unable to perform the activities of independent living such as bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, or eating. Additionally, LTC may be needed if the person requires care and supervision due to a severe cognitive impairment such as memory loss, dementia, etc.

What is Long Term Care Insurance? Long-term care insurance (LTCI) typically helps pay for the care you might need as the result of those disabilities as mentioned above. It covers personal care, homemaker services, skilled nursing care, and physical therapy. Care can be provided in a variety of settings as well, including:

• Your Home
• Adult Family Homes/Day-Cares
• Assisted Living Facilities
• Alzheimer's Facilities
• Nursing Homes

Depending on your policy and condition, varying amounts of care can take place in a variety of locations, and can range from a few hours of care per week at home to round-the-clock care in a nursing home.

The Basics of LTC and LTC InsuranceThere are three key things you need to consider when evaluating whether long term care insurance is for you:

1. Selecting the Maximum Monthly Benefit - this is the maximum amount of money the long term care insurance provider will pay you to receive care on a monthly basis
2. Selecting the Benefit Period - this is the maximum number of years the long term care insurance provider will pay your maximum monthly benefit
3. Selecting the Deductible Period - also called the "elimination period", this is the number of days between beginning to receive care and when benefits are paid

It's crucial to realize that these are the only required benefit selections for any long term care insurance provider; all other selections are optional. Make sure your agent helps you choose the right selections for you.

Although many of us tend to ignore the need for long term care, or simply hope that nothing happens during our lifetime, the fact is just about all of us will in some way, shape or form have an experience when a loved one needs long term care.

Still not sure about LTC insurance? Consider this:

• 12 million people currently receive long term care
• 82% are cared for at home or in Assisted Living
• Only 18% are in nursing homes
• 39% of those needing long term care are aged 18-64

The average length of care varies but regardless of how you look at it, even a year can turn out to be very expensive:

• Nursing home - 2.4 years   
• Home health care - 4.5 years 
• Life span of an Alzheimer's patient - 4.9 years

Most of us probably don't realize just how much long term care costs (if you had to pay by cash). Be prepared:

• Home health care runs about $18/hour = $66,000/year   
• Assisted living can cost $85/day = $30,288/year   
• Adult day care may be $55/day = $20,075/year 
• Nursing homes are expensive: $192/day = $70,080/year

Long term care insurance may not be for everyone, but everyone should consider it , especially as each generation continues to live a longer life. Let's make sure it's a happy one.  

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1. http://www.longtermcare.gov/LTC/Main_Site/index.aspx - A website created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help families understand, plan and pay for long term care. Resources include a glossary and definitions of long term care terms,  costs of long term care and much more
2. http://www.opm.gov/insure/ltc/ - This website is dedicated to the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, designed to assist federal employees with receiving long term care insurance .
3. http://www.aarp.org/money/financial_planning/sessionfive/longterm_care_insurance.html - Information and resources provided by aarp.org, including when the right time to buy LTCI is or whether long term care insurance is even for you
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_term_care_insurance - definition of long term care insurance , including links to additional resources
5. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/insurance/longterm-care-insurance-1103/overview/ - Consumer Reports article titled “Do You Need Long Term Care Insurance?” including a link to what Medicare & Medicaid cover

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6 Eating Tips To Help Lower High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a serious problem here in the US and abroad. According to the website for the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, “…1 in 3 adults in the US have HPB.” Read on and the truth is even scarier. “You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.” Fortunately, some small changes in your diet can go long ways to lowering high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a serious problem here in the US and abroad. According to the website for the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, “…1 in 3 adults in the US have HPB.” Read on and the truth is even scarier. “You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.”

Do we need to hear more? This is why it’s so important to have your blood pressure monitored frequently. Whether you are young or old, suffer from diabetes or not, understanding your blood pressure, what affects it and what steps to take, if necessary, to beat it, are crucial to a long and happy life.

Most of us know there are certain things we can do to help keep high blood pressure in check, such as frequent exercise, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, relaxation and less stress . But one of the most important factors in lowering HBP, and one that we have complete control over (but manage to ignore anyways), is our DIET.

Unfortunately, the price of food, especially the healthy stuff, continues to go up. The result being, it’s all too easy for us to skip the entrance to the grocery store and instead be lured by cheap and tasty food, served up quick, at your nearest fast-food restaurant. And there’s your first mistake to lowering high blood pressure.

Eating well isn’t necessarily that hard to do thankfully. What can be difficult though is having the understanding of which foods are healthy and WHY. What ingredients does the good stuff have that will actually help lower blood pressure?

Listed below are 6 easy choices you can make to control blood pressure by simply eating better:

1. Monounsaturated Fats - Increasing consumption of products with monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, in your diet can greatly diminish your risk of high blood pressure and may even eliminate the need to take medication to control the situation.
2. Potassium Intake - Decrease potassium intake to 2,400 milligrams or less on a daily basis.
3. Vitamin C - Increase consumption of products containing Vitamin C. This may mean a daily vitamin supplement (make sure to buy quality supplements!) or be part of an increased consumption of fruits, such as oranges
4. Fruits and Juices - Increase consumption of juices, fruits (especially bananas) and whole grain based cereals to counteract high levels of potassium found in other foods and in your body. Important note: juices are good in moderation. There are lots of juices on the shelves of your local grocery store that contain seriously high amounts of sugar. Walk right by these and instead look for ones that have no sugar added. (Also keep in mind that fruits contain natural amounts of sugar.)
5. Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids that are commonly found in cold-water fish. These acids are proven to reduce high-blood pressure as well as lower your cholesterol .
6. Whole Oats - Increase consumption of whole oats help to control your high blood pressure. Additionally, they also have positive affects on cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Modifying your diet to include these foods can help reduce high blood pressure. Combined with exercise, other lifestyle changes and tracking blood pressure at home , you can be sure your BP will begin to fall.

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