Long Term Care Insurance

Studies also show that there is a 50% chance that a person will need some type of long-term care service after the age 65. Many people feel that medical insurance can cover such needs. However, that’s not true. Medical insurance does not have a vast scope as compared to long-term care insurance and cannot cover the expenses and the services covered by the long term care insurance.

Long-term care insurance can be broadly classified into three types:

The skilled nursing plan entails a treatment plan, expert therapy with a certified therapist and nursing care. This long-term care needs to be ordered by a doctor and is provided on a daily basis. Moreover, here the patient needs to recover from all her/his illness or injuries.

The second type of is called the intermediate nursing care plan. This nursing care should also be prescribed by the doctor but is not provided on a daily basis. This plan is entirely driven by the doctor and focuses on making the patient recover soon.

The third type is the custodial nursing care plan, which is also known as the full coverage plan of long term insurance. This involves almost all aspects of care such as daily nursing care, hygiene management, management of activities such as walking, bathing etc. The custodial care can be included in a home care plan, assisted living care plan and nursing home plan. This plan is basically meant for supporting patients who are unlikely to recover from their illnesses or are terminal cases.

The field of long-term care insurance has also launched several other products in the past few years like immediate care, deferred care, pre-funded care and care cash.

The immediate care insurance policy is meant for those people who are at a point in their lives where they need care. The patient is medically examined and assessed to see what he can pay with his income. This policy is normally life long and cannot be opted out of. In case the patient dies earlier then most of the times, the next of the kin do not get any money back. However, some companies offer the option to safeguard the capital incase of an early death.

Deferred care as the name suggests means that the benefits are paid out after a few months or years. This plan is cheaper than the immediate care insurance and is tailor made for people who have some money to pay for their care till a particular period but require some security in case of a longer duration of care.

Pre-funded care plans are for those people who think that they may require care in the future. The benefits are paid when the insurer determines that the individual is unable to perform some day-to-day activities and needs care. There are death benefits involved in some of these policies as well. However, these policies do not cover the problems arising due to alcohol, drugs, depression or mental problems.

Care cash covers diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, motor neuron and Parkinson’s disease. This care plan pays an income for a set period and does not involve paying for a care home or any related fee.

Long Term Care plans are expensive. Hence it’s important to make a sound judgment after reviewing all the policies, benefits and costs attached.

Long Term Care Insurance