The aging of America is happening in ways many of us had not thought about. For instance, not many people gave much thought to the concept of an adult day care center for seniors. Over time, as our families became a part of the sandwich generation, we learned about long-term care services offered by adult day services centers. We found out about them the hard way, when we needed respite from caring for an elderly loved one.

These centers are a crucial part of providing long-term care for seniors in the U.S. today. They offer a wide range of activities, ways and places to socialize, a helping hand for daily living activities and health monitoring, and supportive services that help a senior stay at home as long as they can. This comes with a price tag, and if the senior did not look into long-term care insurance, the family will be struggling to deal with the costs.

The good news is that adult day care centers offer their patient’s families the chance to stay in the workforce and get respite care when it is needed. Additionally, they offer other direct services like support groups and educational programs. While the care is reasonably priced, the cost may still be a drawback for some families, even though they recognize that their autonomy and quality of life is precious to their family member.

America is graying, even as you read this article. In a few short years, many of you may find yourself considering long-term care, or helping a relative to find care. You may even need an adult day care center for your mom, dad or grandparents. The demand for centers like this will not decrease, not with the population demographics the way they are today.

For example, there are currently over 4,600 adult day service centers across the nation that serve more than 260,000 people and family caretakers. If you do the math, you will know that this demand will increase as time passes, not to mention that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act calls for the urgent need to manage chronic illness within the Medicare program. Without care models like adult day care centers, there would be a large portion of the older population falling through the cracks of the health system.

It is never too late to check out how valuable long-term care insurance can be to you and your family. However, if you are older when applying, the premiums may well be higher. For this reason, considering long-term care while you are younger only makes sense. While you may think nothing will happen to you, the fact is that life does happen to all of us at some point or another.

As you get older, it is inevitable there will be health issues of some kind. Want to stay as independent as long as possible because it is important to you? Consider long-term insurance for those “just in case” scenarios in your life. It is an investment in your health and independence that will pay for itself.

Evan Tunis is with Next Exit Retirement. To learn more about Boca Raton long-term insurance or West Palm Beach long-term insurance visit http://www.nextexitretirement.com.