Long Term Care Insurance Basics
A 2006 study conducted by AARP found that most Americans do not know the costs associated with Long-Term Care and overestimate the amount that government programs such as Medicare will pay. Couple that with the fact that medical problems are a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Additionally, more companies are scaling back on pension plans and the health care coverage associated with them. It's easy to see how a medical problem in later life could drain your savings.
Insurance companies offer something called long-term care insurance (LTC) to protect you from this problem. Extended care is not typically covered by Medicare so it is a good an idea to take a look at this option. In fact, many families run out of Medicare benefits quickly. Then they have to rely on savings. When savings are used up, people have to rely on Medicaid, which is the federal health care plan for poor people.
This coverage provides a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for extended periods of time. It can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or nursing homes. If a person requires these type of services they can cost thousands of dollars a month so it is a good idea to consider having the bulk of it covered. Expenses like this can deplete savings very quickly.
A policy covers the costs of nursing-home facilities or the costs of home health care. This kind of insurance provides a daily dollar benefit i.e. you get a fixed amount of money each day. There are five important areas to look at when considering long-term health insurance:
- Comprehensive or Facilities-only plans - Comprehensive plans help pay for care at home as well as in a nursing home. Facilities only plans require the care takes place at a long-term care facility (ex. Nursing home). Facility only plans are usually less expensive.
- Daily benefit amount - Actual or maximum amount insurer will pay per day. Some plans pay on a monthly or weekly basis.
- Benefit Period - The amount of time you want to receive the daily benefit amount. The period can range from two years to an unlimited amount of time.
- Elimination or waiting period - How long you have to wait from the time you are eligible for the benefit until you begin receiving them. Policies with short or no waiting periods are more costly.
- Inflation protection - This is to protect you from the rising cost of care. There are a variety of options to choose from.
Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance is flexible, and can be purchased to fit your desires, needs, and budget. Of course, like other health insurance, it is much cheaper and easier to get while you are healthy. Younger people will get more affordable rates than older people will as well.
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http://www.247quoteus.com/longtermcareinsurance/
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: March 21, 2008
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