Providing care for a very sick, injured or elderly family member is hard! Especially without help.

There are currently over 50 million family caregivers sacrificing their time, family, health and future to provide that care.

LTC insurance is not designed to replace you; it's there to help you be able to help without hurting yourself or getting overwhelmed from doing it alone.

Who is going to pay for those 7.8 million licensed care providers as the Baby Boomer generation reaches 80 this year and continues to age?

It's either us, our family, or the government.

Part of "us" is LTC insurance - so we won't force our famly members to exhaust themselves.

You can view current (2024) and estimate future cost of care where you live here

I recommend you use 5% COLA and not the 3% that defaults when you open the page.

I said I would add a link to the site that discusses LTC reform and how Medicaid impacts the entire industry, but the link is not active today. I have LTC Bullets emailed to me weekly. Hopefully, it's up and running again soon. The link is here for when it is online again

Schedule a meeting with me here

Jason Dutra with BuddyIns joins us this week to share a case study on worksite LTC benefits.

There are companies that will offer guaranteed issue (no health questions) hybrid life/LTC plans to a company with as few as 3 employees.

Listen and learn if this is a tool you would like to offer, or that you would like your employer to offer.

Then schedule an introductory meeting with me to discuss options for your company here

If you'd like to learn more first, use this link to research at BuddyIns https://buddyins.com/worksite

You can schedule a meeting with Jason by submitting a referral at the top right of the page.

Please remember to request me as your specialist.

I look forward to helping you protect those you care about most.

Hello to all our new and returning listeners!

Because we've had a large increase in listeners, I thought I'd share what we discuss during our initial consultation (which costs you only time).

It's good for long time listeners to get a refresher as well.

Our first meeting, via phone or Zoom and sometmes in person, is mostly educational. It's impossible to make a decision on something as important as preparing for futue extended care needs unless we understand what we are deciding.

LTC insurance is not for everyone. It must fit in with the rest of your retirement plan in order to protect both your assets and your family.

You can view current (2024) and projected costs of several types of care where you live here

A 2025 update will be released in March, 2026.

You can schedule a phone or zoom meeting with me here

I look forward to meeting you and helping you to protect those you care about most.

Because we have so many new listeners, we decided to get back to the basics of long term care and LTC insurance.

The best starting point is to learn current and future costs of home care, assisted living, and nursing home care. Use the cost of care website to find costs where you live at https://www.carescout.com/cost-of-care

Once we understand the risk we're up against if we suffer from dementia, a stroke or a severe car accident (for example), we need to decide where we would want to live when help is needed to get through our days. We need to consider who we want to have helping us, and we need to decide how we're going to pay for this care.

Listen and learn how different types of insurance plans decide when and how claims are approved or declined.

Learn which kinds of plans can be tax deductible and which can be paid using HSA funds.

Get your current policies and proposals out and schedule time with me to evaluate them and learn if they best meet your needs.

Schedule a phone or Zoom meeting here

Happy New Year! Let's make 2026 the year we design and fund our LTC plan without destroying our budget.

This week, Diane shares ways to pay for long term care insurance with alternatives to simply using income to fund it.

Listen and learn how to reduce the impact on the budget while preparing for that day when we do become more dependent on other people to help us get through our days. We're making sure to afford a plan today AND afford to provide for our needs then.

Schedule a phone or zoom meeting to discover unique and creative ways to prepare for your family's tomorrow here

If there is a topic you'd like me to discuss this year, email me here

We recorded "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" along with a few other classics about 15 years ago. My husband, Paul, is the guitar master, and I am playing flute.

Please enjoy, and share with those you care about most as you gather to celebrate this week.

As Christians, our family is celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Whatever you celebrate this season, do so with love and joy in your hearts.

If you're weary, lay still and hear the angels sing as they bring peace throughout the world.

I pray for blessings over each of you today, and into 2026 (and beyond).

Sending hugs to everyone.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

When discussing worksite LTC with employers, two question come up all the time -

1) How much work do I as an employer or HR director have to put in?

2) I heard LTC insurance is expensive. How much more will the company be spending to add this benefit?

Jason Dutra clearly addresses both of these questions this week.

For more info, reachout to me diane@preparing4tomorrow.com

Or research first at https://buddyins.com/

Jason's email is jason@buddyins.com

When asking him or the team for more info, be sure to let them know I sent you so we can connect that way.

That title is an oxymoron. Truthfully, if you'll never qualify for Medicaid, that means you'll pay for all of your long term care needs yourself.

In this week's episode we're sharing things you need to consider today, long before care is needed.

You need to prepare for tomorrow's needs today, whether you choose to own insurance or not.

You need to create a roadmap for your caregivers to follow if you're unable ot unwilling to communicate your wishes when you need extended care.

In today's episode, Diane shares what is involved in creating that roadmap.

To help you prepare for where you'll be living when retired, use https://www.carescout.com/cost-of-care

Be sure to use 5% inflation when looking at future costs as that is the inflation growth we've seen over the last three decades.

Then, schedule some time with me to learn what kinds of plans can be available to help pay for your potential needs without breaking the bank.

Schedule here