It’s true that life care planning involves upfront costs, but the long-term benefits often outweigh the initial investment. Life care planning is a process of assessing an individual’s current and future medical needs. This modeling is typically used for those with chronic or catastrophic disabilities and is a detailed plan outlining required care, including medical treatments, equipment, therapies, and associated costs. These projections map out lifetime care needs and medical cost projections based on a person’s specific circumstances, including where they live. Life care planning is a tool used in personal injury cases to help determine the settlement owed to the injured party.
Life care planning can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on how extensive the person’s needs are. While this may seem like an expense you don’t want to incur, it has a high return on investment.
The Value of Life Care Planning
Life care planning is a worthwhile expenditure for someone who has experienced a catastrophic injury that will require lifetime for several reasons, including:
- Comprehensive Care: Life care planning provides a comprehensive roadmap for the future. After an injury, it is important to address medical, rehabilitative, and financial needs that all impact one another and the quality of life for the patient, as well as their family.
- Accurate Medical Cost Projections: When representing a personal injury client, accurate medical cost projections are key to securing fair compensation. These models take into account not only the lifetime healthcare needs of a person, but also economic factors that could impact medical costs for a full picture of a person’s future.
- Personalized Care Plans: Each person’s situation is different. That’s why every life care plan is tailored to meet an individual’s needs. Life care plans are based on the medical records of the person injured, where they live, and applicable laws.
- Peace of Mind: Life care planning can alleviate stress and anxiety for injured individuals and their families. Understanding the scope of rehabilitation and other healthcare allows people to plan for the future and seek the help they need.
The Long-Term Benefits of Life Care Planning
Establishing a comprehensive and accurate life care plan is a helpful legal tool in the short term that has lasting positive impact for personal injury victims.
- Avoiding Financial Hardship: Life care planning can help prevent financial challenges by helping to ensure adequate resources for future care. Disability can require on-going healthcare costs such as in-home caregivers, additional medical procedures, and specialized equipment. Certain injuries may require costly changes to a person’s home, such as wheelchair ramps or lifts, to make it compliant for their physical limitations.
- Improving Quality of Life: Injury changes a person’s life. Life care planning can enhance the quality of that life by addressing physical, emotional, and social needs. Each of these elements is addressed in the life care planning process based on each person’s desires and needs.
The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Life Care Planning
While the out-of-pocket expense for a life care plan may seem high when first facing the stress of a personal injury, it will pay for itself in the long run. A few thousand dollars will return much more if the legal team can win a fair settlement for their client based on the medical cost projections in the life care plan.
- Short-term investment, long-term return: An initial investment in life care planning can lead to significant long-term savings for healthcare and related costs. Without understanding the future needs of a personal injury case, a jury may not realize how much money long-term care may cost for a given disability.
- Avoiding costly mistakes: Underestimating future medical costs can lead to financial ruin for an injured person and their family. This is especially true if the disability does prevents the person from returning to work.
- The value of peace of mind: Once the case is closed, you will realize that life care planning is worth every penny spent at the beginning. Obtaining a settlement that your client deserves to maintain a quality life without incurring additional hardship is something you can feel proud of. Knowing that your client’s future is secure gives you assurance that you did your job.
The primary benefits of life care planning include ensuring individuals receive appropriate care based on their needs, maximizing independence for as long as possible, managing long-term care costs, providing peace of mind, and allowing individuals to maintain their desired quality of life even when facing unexpected injury and disability.
You can help your clients and their families navigate the complexities of long-term care planning while prioritizing quality of life and protecting their financial future by investing in life care planning.
Contact LCPpro® for a free consultation to learn more about how life care planning can benefit your clients.
