Long Term Care Insurance policies are highly complex, sophisticated and numerous variables, options and considerations are part and parcel of these products.
Long term care insurance is insurance that might never be used.
Similar to all other insurances there needs to be a “triggering event” that activates this type of insurance coverage.
Long Term Care Insurance is NOT health insurance.
Long Term Care Insurance may include financial insurance help for cognitive impairment, long term physical disability, activities for daily living, home health care, respite care, adult day care, care in a nursing home, and care in an assisted living facility.
Long Term Care Insurance is personally purchased insurance from individual personal resources.
Long Term Care Insurance is state specific and the terms and conditions of a policy offering in one state might or might not be the same as the terms and conditions of an offering in another state.
Some insurance companies offer simplified long term care policies.
Medicare skilled nursing facility does not cover most nursing home care. In some cases, Medicare will pay some skilled care in approved nursing homes and your home. Medicare does not pay for homemaker services. You need to check specifically on eligible coverage available from Medicare; and, we think it’s fair to say, that you should not relay on Medicare to pay for your potential long term care needs.
Presently, Medicaid pays for nearly half of all nursing home care, and for some home care and community based services. However, in order to get Medicaid assistance, one must meet federal and state guidelines for income and assets. Effectively, one must “spend down” their own assets prior to being eligible for Medicaid; and various rules apply for assets transferred to others prior to receiving Medicaid assistance.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, provides some federal income tax advantages to purchasers who buy certain “Qualified Contract” long term care insurance policies. Other type long term care policies are not “Qualified Contracts”.
Generally, individuals and families with large assets that don’t want to use these assets to pay for the potential cost of expensive long term care are good candidates for these types of insurance policies.
The cost of Long Term Care Insurance can vary from issuing company to company, and the cost is a function of many selected variables, such as: age, health conditions, daily benefit, maximum length of paid benefit, elimination period selected, inflation protection, waver of principal, etc.
Typically, policies issued as policy owners age are more expensive.
Benefits from Long Term Care Insurance are paid only after the insured has used his/her elimination period defined in the policy. If the selected elimination period is 90 days that means you will start to receive benefits only 90 days after the trigger event has be activated.
Some insurance companies offering LTC insurance provide discounts for married couples and for individuals living at the same residence.
Some LTC Insurance policies pay 50% of the daily nursing home benefit if home care is selected and they pay this benefit for double the benefit period. Effectively, a pool of money is allocated to fund the benefit whether used for nursing home care or home care.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners here’s some shopping tips potential purchasers of this type of insurance products should keep in mind: Ask Questions, Check With Several Offering Companies, Take Your Time and Compare Policies, Understand the Policy, Don’t Be Mislead By Advertising, Don’t Buy More Than One Policy, Never Pay Cash, Read The Policy and Make Sure You Get The Coverage You Want, Check The Financial Stability Of The Issuing Company.
