The Choice For Sensible Protection toward your health & retirement:
A message from Diane K. Sharbaugh |
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California
Partnership
Long Term Care
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What is Long-Term Care? It is the kind of assistance you need when you require help with personal care. The need for this assistance usually results from a long term mental or physical condition, including age or frailty, or a sudden accident. Or, cognitively impaired, such as Senile Dementia, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease Long-term care is offered in a variety of settings:
This type of facility is licensed as a residential care facility. Medicare and Long-Term Care: . Long-term care services can be very expensive. It is important to think ahead about how you will pay for the care you get. Generally, Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care. Medicare pays only for medically necessary skilled nursing facility or home health care. However, the skilled nursing care and home health aide services are only covered on a part-time or “intermittent” basis. You must meet certain conditions for Medicare to pay for these types of care when you get out of the hospital. Most long-term care is to assist people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Medicare doesn't pay for this type of care called “custodial care.” Custodial care (non-skilled care) is care that helps you with activities of daily living. It may also include care that most people do for themselves, for example, diabetes monitoring.
Paying For Long-Term Care A private insurance policy can help pay for many types of long-term care, including both skilled and non-skilled care. Long-term care insurance coverage can vary widely. Some policies may cover only nursing home care. Others may include coverage for a whole range of services like care in an adult day care center, assisted living, medical equipment, and formal and informal home care. Long-term care insurance premiums vary, depending on your age and health status when you buy the long-term care insurance policy and how much coverage you want. Additionally, you must be in generally good health to pass underwriting when purchasing a policy. For this reason, it may be better to buy long-term care insurance at a younger age when premiums are lower. If this is done, a periodic review is advised to make sure your policy covers your current and future long-term care needs. But you can buy long-term care insurance at any age. Talk about this with a family member, insurance agent, or financial advisor to learn what is best for you. The cost of care, especially in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, varies from state to state. Make sure that the long-term care insurance policy you buy will cover the costs of care where you plan to use it. TAX BENEFITS:
Private insurance companies sell long-term care insurance policies. You can buy them from an insurance agent or through the mail. Or, you may be able to buy a group policy through an employer or through membership in an association. Insurance companies may let you keep coverage after your employment ends or your employer cancels the group plan. You may be able to continue your coverage or convert it to another long-term care insurance policy.
1 The California Partnership for Long-Term Care is a program of the California Department of Health Services. How can you get the care you need without spending the assets you were trying to protect when you purchased your long-term care insurance? The answer: Purchase
a long-term care insurance policy certified by the California Department
of Health Services with benefits equal to the value of the assets you want
to protect. Only Partnership policies bear the logo of the California Partnership
For Long-Term Care.
How can long-term care insurance be of benefit to you? One of the most important reasons to buy long-term care insurance is to ensure you will be reimbursed for most of the costs of long term care. If you must have assistance to perform the activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, or eating, whether provided in a nursing home, residential facility or in your own home, the costs will be high. . By planning now for your future long-term care needs, you can be free from financial dependence on your loved ones and still meet your long-term care needs. Another important reason
to buy long-term care insurance is to protect your assets, so you will
not become impoverished by paying the high cost of long-term care. You
may also wish to protect your assets in order to leave them to your loved
ones or, perhaps, a charity.
When will you need Long-Term Care?
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3 What is Asset Protection? Medi-Cal Asset Protection is available only in Partnership policies through a Partnership between the State of California Department of Health Services and select insurers who offer long term coverage. The asset protection feature guarantees you get to keep a dollar's worth of assets for each dollar your Partnership insurance policy pays out for long-term care services. This means you can purchase a Partnership policy equal to the amount of assets you wish to protect. If you use up your long-term care insurance benefits and still need long-term care, you may apply for Medi-Cal. When qualifying for Medi-Cal, you are entitled to keep assets Medi-Cal normally allows, plus assets equal to the amount of the Partnership policy has paid out in benefits for your care. The State of California will also disregard these protected assets when it recovers claims by Medi-Cal on your behalf. cpltc/14691 (6/03)
You have seen why people of all ages
need good, reliable health insurance.
You know now your assets are being protected by having the proper automobile, life and homeowners or renters insurance. You probably know a friend, relative, neighbor or co-worker whose family suffered financial and emotional hardship when a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility was required or when they needed Home Health Care or Adult Day Care. Why didn't they have the right insurance to cover the cost of their Long-Term Care expenses? The answer to your need for Long-Term Care coverage to help protect yourself and your family from the high costs of prolonged care can be found among the wide variety of plans we offer. The flexibility we provide enables you to suit your individual needs, budget and peace of mind. Our plans
give you the opportunity to exercise your freedom of choice when it comes
time for your to receive the care you need, whether it be in your home,
in the community or a nursing facility.
4 Alzheimer's Disease:
. More than 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. By the year 2040, 14 million people in the United States will have Alzheimer's unless science finds a way to prevent or cure the disease. As many as 60,000 individuals over the age of 65 in Orange County have Alzheimer's disease or are at risk of developing it in the near future. Caregivers are at a 63% higher risk for early mortality as compared to their non-caregivers peers. You may have Alzheimer's 20-30 years before it is diagnosed. The disease process begins in the brain decades before there are any noticeable symptoms. A person will live an average of 8 to 20 years after symptoms appear. The annual cost of Alzheimer care in the United States is at least $100 billion. Health insurance and Medicare do not pay for the long-term care that most patients will require and long-term care insurance must be purchased before the onset of the illness. More than 75% of those with Alzheimer's live at home. The average lifetime cost of the disease per patient is $200,000. Alzheimer's disease costs American business $61 billion annually - $24.6 billion toward the total cost of health care for people with Alzheimer's disease, plus $36.5 billion in lost productivity of working caregivers, worker replacement, continuing insurance costs for workers on leave and Employee Assistance Program usage by caregivers. 10% of people
over 65 have Alzheimer's disease and nearly 50% of those over 85 have Alzheimer's.
A small percentage of people in their 30's and 40's get the disease.
to look forward to instead of something to dread. Aging can be enjoyed ... not just endured.
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