Step 1: Acknowledge the challenges associated with long term care in Connecticut

Step 1: Acknowledge

Hiding from the realities associated with obtaining and financing long term health care in Connecticut will not protect you or your family from future problems.

In fact, failing to acknowledge, and prepare for, issues associated with aging and long term health care can have tragic consequences for both parents and their children.

We see this every day, when illness strikes and expected resources fail to materialize. We see the shock waves traveling throughout a family as the consequences of failing to previously and frankly addressing long term care issues reverberates through a family, and are saddened by the way many families are ripped apart by the stress and costs associated with providing and financing long term health care.

On the one hand, increasing costs and escalating demand for long term health care
The starting point is to acknowledge that health care issues increase with age, and that previous health is not an guarantee that problems will not occur in the future. As individuals age, there is increased likelihood that health issues may strike even the most healthy-appearing individuals.

Failing to acknowledge the seriousness of health care and long-term care issues ahead of time may result in the issues being addressed during a health incident, or immediately following it, when stress is at its highest.

Acknowledging the potential disruption and pain that the need for long term care is a way of expressing your love for your family by preparing for an eventuality that–hopefully–will never occur.

In many cases, a prudent starting point is to gather the family together to discuss what should be done, years before health challenges present themselves. This open communication and discussion can defuse an otherwise highly emotional and stressful topic.

On the other hand, funding is drying up
At the same time that the country’s population is aging, and the costs of health care in general–and long term care in particular–are escalating, sources of funding are drying up.

  • Corporate pension and retirement funds are frequently under-funded. Bankruptcies and mergers can easily erase previous promises.
  • Federal funding can no longer be considered a “given.” The “War on Terror” will likely continue, while the worsening economy and growing energy costs reduce government revenues. A growing “generation gap,” unhappy with the prospect of increased taxation, is another pressure working against Federal funding for long term health care programs.

The above is just the tip of an iceberg that families must acknowledge ahead of time, while there’s still time to act.

Questions to ask at this point
Addressing questions like the following will provide you with a head start on preparing for the challenges associated with long term care. Additional questions are contained in our free Gathering Storm report.

  1. When was the last time you, your spouse, and your immediate family, addressed the consequences of needing long-term care?
  2. Are all your financial records, including insurance policies, retirement plans, and tax information, in one location or easily accessible?
  3. Have you recently reviewed your family’s retirement plans?

What we are doing, and you can do
We at the Haas Agency are addressing the fast-approaching crises in long term health care by devoting increased resources to identifying the issues, monitoring the economic and political climate on the national level–and, in particularly, developments in Connecticut, and sharing our findings with our clients throughout the state.

You can also do you part by learning as much as you can, by subscribing to our blog and reading the resources we provide (like our free “Gathering Storm” white paper), and–most important–encouraging healthy family-wide discussion about you and your family’s ability to satisfactory address any future long term health care issues that may arise.

Questions?
Please feel free to contact us with any questions:

Glastonbury office
Paul Haas, (860) 659-1301
Peter Haas, (860) 659-1301

New Fairfield office
Tim Haas, (203) 746-5077

To learn more, please proceed to Step 2.