Getting the Right Long Term Care Insurance Coverage
What is long term care insurance? Some people think of long term care insurance (LTCI) as a product which they can buy off a counter and use in all kinds of long term care (LTC) facilities 20 or 30 years later. They have to understand that it is a personalized plan designed by the buyer himself and enforced by the insurer.
Contrary to popular belief, insurance companies that sell LTCI policies do not dictate what should be printed on the policies of their buyers. They have underwriters who are only responsible for determining the eligibility of a person for coverage. When it comes to the important components of a policy like the maximum benefit amount, maximum benefit period, inflation protection, and elimination period, it’s the buyer or applicant who solely decides.
So, if some people are spending more on their LTCI premiums than other policyholders it could either mean that they applied for coverage at a later age or their policy stipulates a higher benefit amount or a longer benefit period or perhaps a shorter elimination period.
An LTCI policy is, indeed, very important as it happens to be the only insurance product that allows people to receive care in their choice of LTC setting while keeping their assets intact. However, the amount of coverage that an individual can get from his policy will depend on how he structures it. That said, it is necessary for a buyer to identify his future health care requirements first and the cost of LTC where he lives before he starts to negotiate for a potential LTCI policy.
What is Long Term Care Insurance For?
Before anyone buys an LTCI policy or decides never to buy it, he has to understand first the nature of this product. This type of insurance provides coverage in a wide range of LTC settings and contrary to what many people think, it is not a product inspired only by elderly people.
It’s true that there are more senior citizens purchasing LTCI but it does not follow that they’re the only ones in need of LTC. Based on the records of the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), 40% of the population receiving LTC comes from the 18 to 64 age bracket while 70% is comprised of senior individuals aged 65 and older.
Using that data as reference in the study of LTC, you can easily pick up that anybody regardless of age and status in life may need serious care at some point in his life.
According to the experts in LTC, the gauge of a person’s need for LTC services is his inability to perform any of the six activities of daily living (ADL) which are eating, bathing, dressing, continence, toileting, and transferring. Various reasons cause a person to lose his ability to perform these ADLs and among these reasons are infirmity, head, spinal or knee injuries, cognitive impairment, and chronic illnesses.
To be able to receive quality LTC services a person has to have a substantial amount of assets, probably worth a million or more. If he does not have this much, he should start asking the experts what is long term care insurance and how can he and his family benefit from it.
LTCI policies are indispensable and those who refuse to acknowledge this reality usually end up on Medicaid’s mercy.
Processing your request, Please wait....
