Learn about long-term-care insurance

As the baby boomers get old, many of them are going to need long-term care, either in-home assistance or residence in a nursing home.

Naturally, most people don’t relish paying for long-term-care insurance costing $100 a month or more that they may not use for 10, 20 or more years, so they go without—only to discover, when the need for care arises, that it costs $80,000 a year or more.

That’s why the California Partnership for Long-Term Care, a joint venture between the state Department of Health Care Services and three insurance companies that sell long-term-care policies in the state, has created the website RUReadyCA.org. It’s a user-friendly planning tool aimed at consumers in hopes that many more will realize the wisdom of spending money now to avoid financial disaster in the future.

The website describes long-term-care insurance, what service it covers and where it can be purchased. It also includes calculators that estimate insurance premiums and the potential cost of going without insurance. In addition, the partnership companies offer special benefits not available elsewhere.