Paying For Long-Term Care
This type of private insurance policy can help pay for many
types of long-term care, including both skilled and non-skilled
care.
Long-term care insurance coverage can vary widely. Some policies
may cover only nursing home care. Others may include coverage
for a whole range of services like care in an adult day care
center, assisted living, medical equipment, and formal and
informal home care.
Long-term care insurance premiums vary, depending on your age
and health status when you buy the long-term care insurance
policy and how much coverage you want. Additionally, you must be
in generally good health to pass underwriting when purchasing a
policy. For this reason, it may be better to buy long-term care
insurance at a younger age when premiums are lower. If this is
done, a periodic review is advised to make sure your policy
covers your current and future long-term care needs. But you can
buy long-term care insurance at any age. Talk about this with a
family member, insurance agent, or financial advisor to learn
what is best for you.
The cost of care, especially in nursing homes and assisted
living facilities, varies from state to state. Make sure that
the long-term care insurance policy you buy will cover the costs
of care where you plan to use it.
Most long-term care insurance policies offer certain tax
benefits. These policies are called Tax-Qualified, or TQ,
policies. Depending on your age, you can include some or all of
the premium for a TQ policy as a medical deduction on your
Federal income tax form if you itemize your deductions. Also,
when you receive payments from a Tax-Qualified policy, you
generally don't have to pay Federal tax on them.
Private insurance companies sell long-term care insurance
policies. You can buy them from an insurance agent or through
the mail. Or, you may be able to buy a group policy through an
employer or through membership in an association. Insurance
companies may let you keep coverage after your employment ends
or your employer cancels the group plan. You may be able to
continue your coverage or convert it to another long-term care
insurance policy.
The Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) offers
Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees, and annuitants,
members and retired members of the Uniformed Services, their
spouses and other qualified relatives the opportunity to buy
long-term care insurance at a group rate. Under this program,
insurers that are selected and approved by the Government will
make long-term care insurance policies available to those
individuals who qualify.
The Partnership for Long-Term Care, a partnership between
Medicaid and long-term care insurers, is currently available in
four states (listed below) to provide an alternative to spending
down or transferring assets. The four Partnership States have
focused on creating affordable products that encourage people to
self-insure, enable purchasers to provide better protection
against impoverishment, and reduce long-term care costs for the
Medicaid program. For more information on the Partnership
program, call or look at the websites listed below.
New York - 1-888-NYS-PLTC (1-888-697-7582) (Note: This
telephone number is toll-free in-state only.) or 1-518-473-8083
from anywhere (Note: This telephone number isn't a toll-free
number.)
California - 1-800-Care445 (1-800-227-3445).
Indiana - 1-317- 233-1470 (Note: This telephone number isn't a
toll-free number.)
Connecticut - 1-860-418-6318 (Note: This telephone number isn't
a toll-free number.)
Buying a long-term care insurance policy is an important
decision. Make sure that you buy from a reliable company.
Insurance companies must be licensed by your State to sell
long-term care insurance.
Be certain that you are dealing with a company that you know.
If you decide to buy long-term care insurance, be sure that the
company and the agent, if one is involved, is licensed in your
State. If you aren't sure, call your State Insurance Department.
If you are considering buying long-term care insurance policy,
call the insurance company and ask for a sample policy or
Outline of Coverage that shows benefits and costs. Go over the
information carefully. Compare the costs and benefits of
policies from different insurance companies. Find out if any of
the policies are Tax-Qualified if this is important to you. Be
sure to talk with the insurance agent about anything you don't
understand.
For more information on long-term care insurance, contact the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). NAIC
represents state health insurance regulators and has a
publication called "A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care
Insurance." You can also get a copy of this publication from
your State Insurance Department or the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners, 2301 McGee Street, Suite 800, Kansas
City, MO 64108-3600.
If you have questions about where to buy long-term care
insurance in your area, call your State Insurance Department.
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) are state
programs that get money from the Federal Government to give free
health insurance counseling and assistance to people with
Medicare. SHIPs have counselors who might be able to answer your
questions about how to pay for long-term care, the coverage you
may already have, or whether there are any government programs
that may help with your health care expenses.
Some online resources for Long-Term Care Insurance include:
Allianz LTC Insurance
GE Long-Term Care
Insurance
John Hancock LTC Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance from
MetLife
For the complete article click on
Paying For Long-Term Care.