WHAT A GOOD LONG-TERM CARE POLICY SHOULD INCLUDE – Part I

November 25, 2008

As nursing home and long-term care costs continue to rise, the Deficit Reduction Act has made it more difficult to qualify for Medicaid to pay for nursing home costs. Long-term care insurance can help cover expenses, but long term care insurance contracts are notoriously confusing. How do you figure out what is right for you? The following are some tips to help you sort through all the different options.

Find a strong insurance company.
The first step is to choose a solid insurance company. Because it is likely you won’t be using the policy for many years, you want to make sure the company will still be around when you need it. Make certain that the insurer is rated in the top two categories by one of the services that rates insurance companies, such as A.M. Best, Moodys, Standard & Poor or Weiss.

What is covered.
Policies may cover nursing home care, home health care, assisted living, hospice care or adult day care, or some combination of these. The more comprehensive the policy, the better. A policy that covers multiple types of care will give you more flexibility in choosing the care that is right for you.

Waiting period.
Most long-term care insurance policies have a waiting period before benefits begin to kick in. This waiting period can be between 0 and 90 days, or even longer. You will have to cover all expenses during the waiting period, so choose a time period that you think you can afford to cover. A longer waiting period can mean lower premiums, but you need to be careful if you are getting home care. Look for a policy that bases the waiting period on calendar days. For some insurance companies, the waiting period is not based on calendar days, but on days or reimbursable service, which can be very complicated. Some policies may have different waiting periods for home health care and nursing home care, and some companies waive the waiting period for home health care altogether.

In Part II, we will discuss Daily Benefits, Benefit Periods and Inflation Protection.

Source: www.elderlawanswers.com