The Plan for the Risk Most Retirement Plans Ignore.
about 70% of people turning 65 will need some type of long-term care in their lifetimes (ACL.gov) — and Medicare mostly won't pay for it. The question isn't whether to have a plan; it's which structure fits your balance sheet.
Why doesn't Medicare cover this?
Medicare pays for medical care — and most long-term care is custodial: help with bathing, dressing, eating, or supervision for memory conditions. Medicare covers limited skilled care after a qualifying hospital stay, then stops. Medicaid pays only after assets are largely spent down. Everything in between — the years most families actually experience — comes from your savings or your plan.
What are my three main funding structures?
Traditional LTC insurance — the most benefit per premium dollar, with the trade-offs that premiums aren't guaranteed and unused coverage has no residual value. Hybrid life/LTC — a life policy with an LTC rider: guaranteed premiums, benefits if you need care, a death benefit for your family if you don't. Asset-based strategies — repositioning an existing asset (idle cash, an old annuity or life policy) so it multiplies into tax-advantaged care benefits when triggered.
Which one is right for me?
It's a balance-sheet question before it's a product question: your liquidity, your legacy goals, your health today, and who would provide care informally. A CLTC-designated advisor is trained to design for the event — care settings, family impact, claim mechanics — not just quote a policy. That's the difference between owning coverage and having a plan your family can actually execute.
Why do advisors bring SkyWell into these conversations?
Because an unplanned care event can undo decades of disciplined investing — and because the underwriting, product selection and claim design sit outside most advisory practices. We handle the extended-care layer alongside the advisor's income and investment plan, so the whole structure holds under stress.
Long-Term Care FAQ
Will Medicare pay for long-term care?
Mostly no. Medicare covers short-term skilled care after a qualifying hospital stay — not extended custodial care like help with bathing, dressing or memory care. That gap is exactly what long-term-care planning addresses.
What's the difference between traditional and hybrid LTC insurance?
Traditional LTC is pure insurance: lower initial cost, premiums can rise, and if you never need care there's no payout. Hybrid policies combine life insurance or an annuity with an LTC rider: guaranteed premiums and a death benefit if care is never needed, at a higher upfront cost.
When is the right age to plan for LTC?
Most clients address it in their 50s and early 60s, while health underwriting is still favorable. Waiting until a diagnosis usually means fewer options at higher prices — or no options.
What does 'asset-based' LTC mean?
Repositioning an existing asset — often idle cash or an old annuity or life policy — into a product that multiplies into tax-advantaged LTC benefits if care is needed, and passes to heirs if it isn't.
Does SkyWell handle the care itself?
No — we design the funding strategy. The CLTC designation is specifically about planning for extended care: understanding care settings, costs and the insurance structures that pay for them.
The best options exist while you're healthy.
A one-hour conversation now beats a crisis decision later.