Caregiving Challenges, What to Do with Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI)

So, you find out that your loved one has long term care insurance (LTCI), what does that mean and what does it do?

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Long Term Care Insurance

Helpful Highlights

Bottom line... If your loved one has long-term care insurance (LTCI), it will provide some coverage for the costs associated with the extended care required due to aging or a progressing chronic illness.

Best first step, read the policy

Get a copy of the policy and read through the entire document.

Look for reimbursement rates.

Is there an elimination (waiting) period? (This is an amount of time that must pass after the benefit trigger occurs but before payment for services is started. During this time, you must pay for care until the LTCI kicks in.)

Understand what initiates (triggers) the policy benefits.

Does the LTCI policy have requirements regarding who can provide care? (Some require care to be provided by a licensed home care agency.)

Will the LTCI policy allow assignment of benefits (AOB)?

Contact the insurance company if you have questions.

Key point

If there is a maximum lifetime dollar limit on the policy, try to figure out how long the policy will cover care based on the number of hours of care needed (in other words, how long until the money runs out). This will help you determine when and how to use the benefits. LTCI agents, as well as specialists in aging like geriatric care managers, Certified Life Care Planners, or Certified Senior Advisers (CSA), can help you with this.

No content in this app, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Likewise, no content in this app, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct advice from a licensed insurance broker or other qualified plan-payer professional.

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