What is Long-Term Care Insurance?
Long-term care insurance is a type of insurance dedicated to covering the costs of long-term care services that are not covered by most traditional health insurance plans, Medicare, or Medicaid. These long-term care insurance policies have much flexibility based on the different care options you want and the settings in which to receive your care, whether it be at home or in an external location such as an assisted living facility. The pricing for long-term care insurance policies depends on the coverage. The price of your policy will be determined by the type and amount of services you choose, your age and health, and any other optional benefits you choose, such as Inflation Protection. If you are in bad health when you want to buy long-term care insurance, you may not meet insurance companies' eligibility standards, and you will not be approved for coverage.
The long-term care insurance policy you buy will either have a benefit period or a lifetime benefit maximum. This lifetime benefit maximum will give you a maximum amount of time or dollars that your insurance company will cover. For example, you can buy a policy that will cover you for ten years or expenses up to $100,000. With all policies, you will pay an annual, pre-determined premium, which usually is waived when you start receiving benefits. With most policies, you will start to receive benefits when you need assistance because of a severe cognitive impairment or you need help with activites of daily living. Such activities of daily living include dressing, bathing, eating, toileting, continence, transferring, and walking.
