What is Long-Term Care Insurance?
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Long-term care insurance is a specific type of individual insurance that covers people if they need long-term care in the future. Long-term care is not covered by many insurers, even Medicare. However, long-term care itself is a major cost to people and their families at the end of their life. To learn more about how you can protect yourself and your family by investing in long-term care insurance, read on.
Basics of Long-Term Care
Long-term care is different from other types of care. The most common examples of long-term care include nursing homes and in-home assistants. Many people need these types of care when they do not have anyone to care for them or their needs overwhelm their loved ones. When they require too much skilled medical intervention or supervision, many of these people are best served in a nursing home.
Basics of Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance works like any other type of insurance. Typically, you find an insurer and plan that you like. You then apply and would pay an annual premium in exchange for financial assistance in the future if you need long term care. Newer policies offer a daily benefit of $160 for care, including nursing home coverage and day-to-day needs. This means that they would pay up to $160 a day for your long-term care. Long-term care typically costs $2700 a year. If you pay with your partner, you could get a 30% discount. The major caveat of long-term care is the waiting period. This means that there is a waiting period of about 3 months after you apply and are accepted before the insurance will start. The second major drawback is that these policies typically only cover about 3 years of care. Some people will require many years of long-term care, so a typical plan may not cover everyone for as long as they need.
Long-term Care and Medicare
Many people enroll in Medicare as they get older. It is important to emphasize that Medicare does not cover long-term care. Medicare will cover medically necessary stays in facilities such as a skilled nursing facility and acute rehabilitation center. These facilities are different from long-term care facilities. Skilled nursing facilities and acute rehabilitation facilities are places patients go after they are released from the hospital because they have no acute hospital-related needs but still have long-term medical needs that need to be managed by a doctor. The idea is that the patient will transition from the hospital to the facility for a period of weeks to months and then finally home. A patient who needs long-term care at a nursing home will likely never go home after that.
Long-term care insurance is an important way to cover your long-term health needs and protect you and your family financially. To learn more, contact us at Proinsurance Hawaii today!
