.%20You%20need%20LTC%20when%20you%20can%20no%20longer%20handle%20simple%20daily%20activities%20(like%20dressing,%20toiletry,%20moving,%20eating,%20etc)%20by%20yourself.%20Help%20with%20your%20LTC%20needs%20can%20take%20place%20at%20your%20home,%20at%20an%20assisted%20living%20facility,%20or%20in%20a%20nursing%20home.%20Generally,%20once%20LTC%20starts,%20it'll%20continue%20as%20long%20as%20you%20live;%20and%20it's%20costly.%20One%20way...){kind=link}
Getting Acquainted With Long Term Care Insurance Option
One complication of 'Old Age' is the need for long term care (LTC)
. You need LTC when you can no longer handle simple daily activities (like dressing, toiletry, moving, eating, etc) by yourself. Help with your LTC needs can take place at your home, at an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. Generally, once LTC starts, it'll continue as long as you live; and it's costly. One way to handle LTC costs is with LTC insurance.-The cost of long term care :
LTC is expensive. It depends on the type of care you need and where you receive it - in your own home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. The cost for these vary, but typical ranges are $14,000 to $20,000 per year for care at your home, $25,000 to 45,000 per year for care at assisted living facilities, and $60,000 to $100,000 for care at nursing homes.
You should develop a plan to pay your LTC costs long before LTC becomes necessary. Medicaid (not Medicare) will pay for your LTC if you can't. But before Medicaid pays for you, it'll force you to use most all of your own assets to pay for it first. That destroys any legacy you were planning to leave to your children.
So unless you're sufficiently wealthy to pay your LTC costs directly out of your pocket, you'll need LTC insurance. Using LTC insurance allows you to protect what assets you do have from being forfeited to Medicaid or used up by you directly paying your LTC costs.
-Where to look for LTC insurance coverage?
There are 3 ways you can buy LTC insurance:
* An individual stand-alone comprehensive policy
* A group policy
* A rider add on to life insurance
The first option represents the bulk of policies sold. These plans cover most long-term care services and are purchased with monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual premiums that are paid for the life of the insured. Options are available with policies fully paid up after 10 years or to age 65. These policies attempt to cover as many different care alternatives as possible.
You may purchase LTC insurance in an employer's group plan. These usually guarantee participation which implies no disqualifying health questions for full-time employees. As a group plan, a select set of identical benefits are offered to all employees. However, group plans often have watered-down benefits, and therefore, are not a good option for people who can qualify for individual policies.
You may purchase LTC insurance as a rider to a cash value life insurance policy. The life insurance policy then represents two separate coverages and the premium is split to pay for both. Such policies are a poor substitute for true long-term care insurance.
You can also get long-term care benefits through a life insurance policy. Some states have long-term care insurance programs designed to help people with the financial impact of spending down to meet Medicaid eligibility standards.
-Can pre-existing conditions prevent you getting LTC coverage?
A pre-existing condition is one for which you received medical advice or treatment or had symptoms within a certain period before you applied for the policy. This information is readily available to all insurance companies.
Fortunately, many companies will sell a policy to someone with a pre-existing condition. But, they may not pay benefits for long-term care related to that condition, at least for a finite period after the policy goes into effect - perhaps 6 months or so.
-LTC insurance policies are not all the same - so pick one you can afford:
Check out several different policies. Compare their benefits, the types of facilities covered, limits on your coverage, what is not covered, and the premium you must pay. Policies from different insurance companies often have the same coverage and benefits but charged different premiums.
You can't predict if, when, and for how long you'll need your LTC benefits. But if you rely on the typical statistics for nursing home stays and their partial daily cost coverage, you can help reduce your premiums. Ask insurance companies about their rate increase history and whether they have increased the rates on the long-term care insurance policies.
Also, ask if your policy is 'tax qualified' according to the HIPPA legislation. Tax qualified plans require a licensed health care practitioner to certify a beneficiary's eligibility to claim his insurance benefit. Only qualified policies allow for income tax exemption on benefits received - up to a certain limit. They also allow limited itemized deductions for LTC insurance premium payments. These deduction limits increase with your age and are especially helpful for seniors.
Perhaps LTC insurance is the best option for you.
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