Why Do I Need to Worry about Qualifying for Medicaid?
The simple answer is that you might need to rely on Medicaid to cover long-term care (LTC) expenses. While you could need LTC at any point in your life, the odds of needing long-term care (LTC) increase rapidly as you age. You enter your retirement years with a 50 percent chance of eventually needing LTC which increases to a 75 percent chance at age 85. As of 2021, the average yearly cost of LTC in Ohio was almost $100,000. While you may rely on Medicare to cover healthcare expenses as a retiree, Medicare will not cover LTC expenses nor will most private health insurance policies unless you purchased separate LTC coverage.