Long Term Care Insurance

Long term care insurance provides a practical way of buying peace of mind for the future. While you may be fit and healthy now, it is a fact of life that increasing age and physical deterioration eventually make it more difficult to live independently. As your physical condition weakens with age, it will be immensely reassuring to know you have made arrangements that will enable you to be in charge of the type of care you receive at a time when you are no longer able to manage without some level of assistance.

Available in the United States through licensed insurance agents or insurance brokers, long term care insurance is designed to cover costs incurred by the need for care in a nursing home or at home. Long term care insurance costs are those that are not usually covered by other programs. These other programs include Medicare, which is the government health insurance program for people over 65 and those with certain disabilities or illness, Medicaid, which is the government health insurance program for low income people, and private health insurance.

Introduced during the 1970s as nursing home insurance, long term care insurance has since been expanded to cover a diversity of services and people of any age, although the majority of people requiring long term care are over 65 years of age. For the aged, this required care is usually ongoing but long term care insurance can also apply to shorter term situations. Such situations could occur when someone needs temporary care after surgery or an accident.

When you take out long term care insurance you are not taking out insurance against illness. You are, instead, providing for the time or situation when you need help with daily activities such as walking, dressing, eating and hygiene. Once you decide to provide for yourself in this way it is important to choose the best long term care insurance available for your needs.

The cost of a long term care insurance policy is an important factor. According to AARP, the leading non-profit membership organization for people aged fifty and over in the United States, the best type of long term care insurance policy is one which has a reasonable deductible, a diversity of options, inflation protection and a guarantee of sufficient financial benefit. This can cost thousands of dollars a year.

AARP, which makes available long term care insurance policies underwritten by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, advises that people interested in buying the best long term care insurance policies for their needs should first seek expert advice, either from a trained insurance agent or a financial planner. Without such advice there is the risk that policy purchasers could be tempted to do away with important conditions such as inflation protection in order to make their long term care insurance policy more affordable. Expert advice can help you to avoid making such mistakes.

A decision about long term care insurance policy should not be made alone. This is especially important if you do not have close family or friends who can help with advice. Costs and the policies involved can be confusing, and finding the best long term care insurance is not always easy. While it is helpful to read all you can on the subject and to listen to the advice of people who have already investigated it, you also need expert advice to ensure you are buying the best long term care insurance and the policy that is most appropriate for you.

Long term care insurance can be divided into two categories: non-tax qualified, formerly known as traditional long term care insurance, and tax qualified. Under a non-tax qualified long term care insurance policy you are not able to deduct your premiums as medical expenses on your income tax return. If you have a tax-qualified program, you can claim a certain amount of your long term care insurance premiums as medical expenses.

As well as considering the type of long term care insurance policy you should buy, you also need to consider whether you will be able to afford the premiums while maintaining the standard of living you want to enjoy. If you are in poor health or in an older age group, your policy purchase will be more expensive. Prices vary considerably, so it makes good financial sense to shop around until you find the best long term care insurance for your requirements. You should take time to check out the various licensed companies and find those that specialize in long term care insurance before making a final decision.

Nursing home stays are among the situations covered by long term care insurance policies. If a nursing home admission is made directly from a hospital, the hospital’s discharge planning section can help you to choose the most suitable facility. If the admission is not made directly from a hospital, you or the member of your family who is moving to the nursing home will need to choose from among the facilities in the relevant area.

When selecting a nursing home for long term care you need to consider such factors as costs, amenities and reputation. Don’t fall into the trap, when looking at costs, of thinking that the nursing home with the highest daily bed rate is necessarily going to be the best care provider, or that the newest and best looking facility is the one with the most experienced and caring staff. You may find a nursing home which looks a little older than some but which provides top quality care for its residents at rates which are fixed and lower than those charged by newer facilities. At the same time you need to make sure that the amenities that do exist are satisfactory.

The reputation of the nursing home you choose for long term care, either for yourself or for a member of your family, should be an important factor in your choice. If the staff is long term it is often a good indication that they are happy in their work and are providing quality care for the residents. As always in making such decisions, you would be well advised to shop around and to speak to people who, either through personal experience or through knowing one of the residents, have first-hand knowledge of the nursing home you are considering.

Until recently long term care policies were available for purchase only from private insurance companies. Now, however, many employers are also offering them to employees and retirees as well as to the parents of employees. It is estimated that about seven million people in the United States now own long term care insurance policies.

These policies vary considerably in what they cover and what they cost, and therefore require careful study and consideration before you make a final decision. Some long term care insurance policies offer cover only for home care and some only for nursing home care, while others offer a combination. Other services they can cover include extended home care or care in an adult day care center as well as living in an assisted living residence.

Factors you should consider before making a commitment include the person who is being insured and the company, which is providing the insurance. The company should be able to demonstrate financial stability while the health, financial situation, and age and retirement aims of the person who is being insured should also be taken into account. For someone who is aged or in poor physical health, the cost of the policy will be higher. This could make the cost impractical for some people. Before making plans based around long term care insurance you should also make certain that you will be able to receive it, as some people are found to be ineligible because of age or illness.

Long term care insurance gives you the freedom to choose the manner in which you receive your long term care service as well as having help with the protection of your savings. The policy you select should be designed to enable you to structure the type of individual plan that will meet your needs and budgets. Among the many policies now available, the AARP long term care insurance is an example of the flexibility that is a vital consideration for many buyers.

Underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance company of New York, and the only long term care insurance plan with the AARP name and with benefits recommended by members of AARP, the AARP plan is designed to take the worry out of planning for future long term care. As well as helping with day care payments provided either through professional home care organizations or by family and friends, the AARP long term care insurance can also help to cover care received in nursing homes, adult day care centers and assisted living facilities.

Among the increasing number of purchasers of long term care insurance such as that offered by AARP are the baby boomers, now looking ahead to their mid and late sixties and making provision for the time when they will be less independent. As well as making provision for the type of help and reassurance that long term care insurance guarantees, they are also motivated by the fact that it offers protection for assets. In addition to the AARP long term care insurance; many other policies are available through other organizations. A quick search of the Internet will reveal a great diversity of options for prospective buyers.

When shopping around for the best long term care insurance, whether you are seeking care for yourself or for somebody else, there are a number of questions you should consider before making a final decision. While policies vary to such an extent that it is difficult to compare them, there are certain general questions you can ask. In this way you will be able to make the choice that is best suited to your needs and financial situation.

You should, for example, ask about the benefit eligibility requirements associated with the policies you are investigating. These requirements, which may include the inability to perform certain daily activities or the condition of cognitive impairment, can vary according to the policy. The period over which the benefits will be paid is also an important issue. Some people may decide that a policy which covers a three to five year period is suitable for their requirements while others anticipate the need for long term care insurance over a longer period. It is also essential to know the type of care covered by your policy, such as home health care, nursing home care, assisted living facility and adult day care, and whether the relevant services meet your needs.

The cost factor is also a vital element to consider when comparing long term care insurance policies. You will find that most policies pay a maximum daily amount for the care you receive, but remember that the maximum amount for which you are covered does not have to equal the full long term care insurance costs you will pay. You can choose to pay the difference yourself, thus paying less on premiums.

It is worth reading the small print on the your long term care insurance policy to ensure you understand it. Don’t hesitate to question the person selling you the policy and to enlist the advice of family or friends when you are comparing the types of policies available. Taking out long term care insurance is a major decision and you should be clear about what you are buying and how it will help you in the future.

Check the provisions carefully if you have a pre-existing medical condition. Under some policies you are covered immediately, but others have a waiting period. It is also important to know the type of inflation protection available. You may have to elect to pay higher premiums now for your long term care insurance or prepare for increased costs later.

With some long term care insurance policies you have the option of upgrading at a future date by buying extra benefits. If you think you may want to do this, make sure that the policy you are considering will allow this type of upgrading after purchase. Ask what such upgrading will involve; usually you will have to provide new medical details at the time of upgrading.

Ask whether a tax incentive is available for your long term care insurance payments. Through AARP, the leading non-profit membership organization for people aged fifty and over in the United States, you can obtain up-to-date information about whether your state offers such an incentive in relation to long term care insurance costs.

Before you sign your application for long term care insurance, read all the details carefully, make sure they are accurate and keep details about the name of insurance company and agent in case you need to contact them in future.

Profiles of purchasers of long term care insurance have altered considerably in the past few years. Once mainly the choice of people over 70 years of age, long term care insurance is now attracting strong interest from baby boomers, the people born between 1946 and 1964. Now moving towards their fifties and early sixties, many of these people are still in the work force but are looking ahead to the time when they will require the type of care many of them have had to arrange for their parents.

Recognizing this trend, some employers now offer long term care insurance policies. The baby boomer view of the need to make such provision for the future has also attracted government notice. Since 2005 all states in America have had the power to enact partnership programs under which people who buy long term care insurance may be able to protect some of their assets and still qualify for Medicaid when their insurance benefits are used up, as long as they meet Medicaid’s other criteria for eligibility.

When you are buying long term care insurance it is important to know whether a partnership option exists in your state and where you will stand in relation to eventual eligibility for Medicaid. As pointed out by AARP, which makes available long term care insurance policies underwritten by the Metropolitan Insurance Company, long term care insurance is complicated and often expensive but it can also provide solutions and peace of mind for the future.