How to Build a Long-Term Care Plan Before It's Too Late.
Geoff Garfield explains how to build a long-term care plan before a health crisis. Learn the odds, the costs, and how employers can help.
Hosts: Percy Barr, Wayne Pratt and Bernie Franzgrote
Long-term care plan tips from Geoff Garfield on Canada Growth Network: the odds, the costs, and how to start well before a health crisis forces your hand.
GROWTH CATEGORY: Health & Wellness
Brought to you by Canada Growth Network, Notionhive, and Gentry Learning.
You probably have insurance on your home and your car. But do you have a plan for the cost most families are least ready for? Geoff Garfield lived it. His parents needed years of care with no plan in place. Today he is a long-term care insurance specialist at ACSIA Partners, and he joined Canada Growth Network to explain how to build a plan before a health crisis forces your hand.
Geoff Garfield of ACSIA Partners is a long-term care insurance specialist and a former Wall Street financial advisor. He explains why long term care planning matters at every age, who qualifies for benefits, and how employers can offer it as a group benefit.
Watch the full conversation here:
Most people will need some form of long-term care, yet few plan for it. Geoff Garfield, a long-term care insurance specialist at ACSIA Partners and a former Wall Street advisor, explains how coverage works, what it can cost, and why buying early matters. Readers learn how to start a care plan before a health crisis.
Who this is for: SMB owners, HR leaders, solopreneurs, and families planning ahead.
Key Lessons
Care planning is for every age. Geoff says the best time to plan is before you need help. Once a health problem appears, insurers don't want to cover someone who already has an immediate need. Coverage also costs far less in your twenties, thirties, and forties than it does later. For example, if a motorcycle accident left you unable to manage two daily activities, a plan would start paying at any age. Waiting feels safe, but it quietly shrinks your choices.
The odds are higher than most people think. Geoff shared U.S. numbers: about a 70% chance of needing care after 65, and 90% that one spouse needs it if both reach 65. A house fire is about 1 in 400. A serious car crash is about 1 in 39. We insure against those risks without a second thought. For example, 63 million U.S. adults, about one in four, now provide ongoing care to an adult or child with a medical condition. That's why Geoff wants this topic on the table early.
Employers can offer it as a benefit. Almost three quarters of people in the surveys Geoff shared left work early because of a care situation. Employers pay about 8% more in health costs for caregiver employees, and 60% of caregivers say it hurt their job performance. Geoff says plans for companies under 100 employees can cost less and be easier to get covered. For example, every employee at a company that enrolls through ACSIA also gets access to YourCare360, a planning tool with caregiver support, expert guidance, and provider directories.
Practical Steps
Have the conversation this month. Ask your spouse or parents where they want to live if they need help, and how they would pay for it. Geoff suggests using November, which is Long-Term Care Awareness Month, or the holidays as a natural time to bring it up.
Ask about a cash plan. Geoff prefers plans that pay a tax-free monthly benefit you can spend on home care, equipment, or a facility, with no receipts. Geoff's example: a $100,000 policy paying $4,000 a month lasts 25 months, and a built-in rider can double that to 50 months and a $200,000 benefit. Many newer plans also include a life insurance feature, so unused money can go to your heirs.
If you run a team, ask your benefits advisor about long-term care as a group benefit. Geoff says teams under 100 people often work like family, and a group plan can be less costly and less onerous to get covered.
About the Guest
Geoff Garfield is a long-term care insurance specialist at ACSIA Partners and a former financial advisor with more than 25 years in the New York City area. Connect: LinkedIn · Facebook · YouTube
Listen on Audio
Partners on this episode
• Canada Growth Network — real tools and real referral connections.
• Notionhive — websites built to bring in clients.
• Gentry Learning — real estate education from Fred Crouch.
FAQ
What counts as long-term care? Help with daily tasks. Plans usually start paying when you can't do two of six daily activities, or when a doctor confirms serious cognitive decline. Your own doctor decides.
Why not wait until I'm older? Coverage costs less when you're younger. If a health issue appears, you may not qualify at all.
What is a cash plan? It pays you a monthly benefit, tax free. You choose how to spend it, whether that's a home health aide, equipment, or a nursing home or assisted living facility. The check keeps coming, with no receipts to send in.
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