Stability in your health is what’s most important to qualify for long-term care insurance

You do not have to have a perfect health history in order to qualify for long term care insurance.  But your health history does have to be relatively stable.

I’ve helped hundreds of people with health problems obtain long term care insurance from high quality insurance companies, at reasonable rates.

Many of my clients have had health histories that included:  hepatitis, most kinds of cancer (including melanoma), sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), fibromyalgia, transient ischemic attack (TIA), heart surgery, carotid artery disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, implantable automatic defibrillator (IAD), emphysema (COPD), osteoporosis, thyroidism, ulcerative colitis, certain types of lupus, pacemaker recipients, pancreatitis, sarcoidosis, epilepsy, and many other health issues.

You are probably thinking, “Those are serious health conditions.  Why would a long term care insurer be willing to insure someone with one or more of those health conditions?”

The reason:  Stability.

Many people can have one or more of these conditions and live strong, independent, fulfilling lives for decades.  Advances in medicine are enabling many people to live full lives and to manage chronic health conditions.

If your chronic health condition is being managed well and is relatively stable, you should be able to qualify for long term care insurance.

Keep in mind:  stability is the key!

Do NOT do the following:

A couple years ago, I was contacted by someone who had some elevated liver functions.  His condition was stable.  He was taking medication for it.  I recommended one of the leading long term care insurers for him.  I didn’t hear back from him for awhile.  I followed up via e-mail and he told me that his condition had gotten worse.  He said that he decided to stop taking his medication because he wanted to try to qualify for a “preferred rate” for long term care insurance.  He figured that if he stopped taking his medication for a few months that he could get a “preferred rate”.  After stopping the medication he had a relapse.

Here’s the rub:   The difference in premium between the “preferred” rate and the “standard” rate was only 10%!!!  He risked his health to try to save about $15 a month.  But, even if he hadn’t had a relapse, he still would not have been able to get the “preferred rate”.  In order for him to get the “preferred rate” from this insurer he would have had to have been off the medication and have normal liver function tests for 5 years!

If he’d asked me ahead of time, I would have been able to tell him this.  But, he didn’t.

It’s okay if you have a chronic health condition.