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What is long term care insurance?

What is long term care insurance?

  • July 7, 2014

Long term care insurance (LTC) is designed to pay some or all of a policy holder's long term care needs.  Long term care insurance is typically used in conjunction with a person's health insurance.  As discussed earlier, long term care comes in several forms:  home health care, assisted living, community-based residential facilities, and nursing homes are a few of the most recognized forms.

The decision about which form of long term care is utilized by the LTC policyholder creates a unique situation in which the policy holder's goals match those of the insurance company, albeit for different reasons.  The insurance company wants to save on the costs of the policies they have issued, and keeping customers out of nursing homes will advance that goal.  Meanwhile, the policyholder wants to stay out of the restrictive nursing home environment and would rather receive care at home or in an assisted living facility.  For this reason alone, long term care insurance is an excellent option when available. 

Federal Legislation has given states the authority to implement "partnership" programs that may provide dramatic additional incentives for long term care insurance holders.  Partnership LTC policies allow holders to protect additional assets up to the amount paid by the policy.