The term Long-term care may make you think of nursing homes and similar facilities. Long-Term Care Insurance, though, is not designed to cover the costs of being in a nursing home. Instead, a LTC plan can, in many cases, help you and your family avoid expensive nursing home costs. As we get older, we will likely have additional healthcare needs beyond the kinds of services Medicare and Medicaid typically cover.
According to longtermcare.gov, the average monthly cost of going into a nursing home in Florida is $6,844 and the average yearly cost is $82,125 – and that’s for a semi-private room. With the right policy, you won’t have to foot this huge bill on your own. You will be protected and you won’t have to cash in all of your assets just for one or two years in a nursing home.
Under certain circumstances, Medicare and Medicaid may help to cover some of the costs of long-term care services. However, these programs have specific rules and may not cover all of the services you need.
Medicare will pay for a short stay in a nursing facility if you have stayed in the hospital for three days or longer and you are admitted within 30 days of your hospital stay. The largest part of the expenses associated with a nursing home stay are not covered by Medicare though.
Medicaid, designed for people with low income, will provide some long-term care services, to include personal care. There are specific income requirements which you must meet in order to qualify.
There are several ways you can fund longer-term care, including:
Out of all of the options for long-term care funding, getting an LTCi policy will fit best with most situations. Find out more about how an LTCi policy will benefit you by contacting Thomas & Associates today. Call 904-730-3900 today, and we can help you find the best plan for your needs.
The main purpose of Long-Term Care policies is to assist with the costs for personal care services, based on a predictable daily cost. The amount per day is pre-selected when you purchase the policy. Your plan will help cover daily living activities, such as dressing, bathing or eating.
Most LTC plans are not for medical care; these plans provide financial assistance for more common, everyday tasks that become more of a challenge as we age, or as our health declines.
LTCi is not necessarily medical care. This type of coverage often comes from a private insurance company and fills in the gaps Medicare and Medicaid won’t cover. Services provided by long-term care insurance include:
This type of care can be provided in your own home on a long term basis. LTC helps with this kind of daily personal care for the disabled, those with chronic illnesses and other serious conditions.
Thomas & Associates can provide a free, no-obligation quote for Long Term Care insurance. Call 904-730-3900.
A long-term care insurance policy comes with a few basic features, but there are additional features available, as well. For example, many policies will come with inflation protection, along with nonforfeiture benefits. In addition, some plans may offer other features, including:
The LTC Partnership Program provides a way for individuals to purchase long-term care insurance coverage to help protect assets they may need to spend down to qualify for Medicaid. A Partnership policy will allow you to use some or all of the benefits of the policy instead of spending down your assets. Once you’ve used the benefits, they will be disregarded when it comes to calculating eligibility for Medicaid.
Contact Thomas & Associates today, and let us help you select a long-term care plan that is best suited to your particular situation.