How many people do you think enjoy planning for the day that they will need round-the-clock nursing home care? How many want to think about the time when they won’t be able to bathe themselves, or dress themselves or even feed themselves?

That’s what makes talking about long term care insurance in Missouri so difficult. But difficult or not to think about, the fact remains that according to U.S. Census figures almost one out of every two people in Missouri who reach the age of 65 will need some form of long term care at some time in their life.

And it’s not as if the government will provide long term care. The federal government’s Medicare program effectively provides no long term care protection at all, and the state of Missouri’s Medicaid program, while providing some long term care, requires that a person spend all of his or her assets before they are eligible for assistance. And once they are impoverished the state determines what services will be provided and where and how those services will be provided.

So when should you start looking at long term care insurance? Any time following your 30th birthday, according to experts. There are basically two reasons for looking into long term health care at such an early age. One reason is that your monthly premiums are very low when you are in your 30s and quickly escalate as you get older; locking in low rates just makes good economic sense.

The other reason you might want to consider long term care at such a young age is that according to statistics a surprising number of men and women in their 40s and 50s already need to take advantage of such insurance. The primary reason is accidents – 30 and 40 year-old adults are prone to severe accidents as they continue pursuing activities that came so easily to them in their 20s and 30s.

In addition to locking in low premiums by buying long term care insurance at a young age, what else can you do to help keep the cost of your policy down?

Live a healthy life-style for one thing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people who smoke and who are overweight are going to have to pay more for long term care insurance than people who don’t.

Also, people who routinely pursue dangerous activities, such as rock climbing, hang gliding, dirt bike riding and so forth may also find themselves facing higher long term care premiums.

Where you receive your care also influences the cost of your long term care insurance. A policy which covers in-home care on a day-basis is going to be far less costly than a policy which covers round-the-clock care in a nursing home.

The total amount of the policy also makes a huge difference in how much it costs. Most policies have a lifetime cap on the amount they will pay for long term health care, or they have a cap on monthly payments.

Don’t neglect to ask for any multi-policy discounts if you also carry other insurance, such as homeowner’s or auto or health, at the same insurance company.

Long term care insurance policies have what is known as an Elimination Period. This is just insurance-speak for a deductible. The longer your Elimination Period – in other words, the longer you will pay for your own long term care before asking your insurance company to start paying – the lower your monthly long term care insurance premiums.

Finally it’s time for you to get online and start comparing policies and prices. Don’t be surprised to find that the same policy for the same person costs considerably less at some insurance companies than it does at others.

Also don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can fill out just one form on one site and you’ll have all the comparisons you need. It would be nice if that were true but it really isn’t. If you truly want to get the best rates on long term care insurance in Missouri you will need to check out at least 3 different websites.

At the end of the day, however, you will know what the best policy for you is and you will know with certainty that you got the best deal possible.