Long-term care insurance

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Long-term care insurance ( LTC or LTCI ) is an insurance product, sold in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, which helps pay for associated with long-term care. Long term care insurance covers treatments that are generally not covered by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.

Individuals who need long-term care generally do not get sick in the traditional sense, but on the contrary, can not do two of the six activities of daily life (ADL) such as dressing, bathing, eating, squirting, continence, transfer (in and out of bed seat), and walk.

Age is not a determining factor in the need for long-term care. About 70 percent of individuals over the age of 65 will need at least some type of long-term care service during their lifetime. Approximately 40% of those receiving current long-term care are between 18 and 64. Once a health change occurs, long-term care insurance may not be available. Early onset (before age 65) of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease is rare but it does occur.

Long-term care is a problem because people live longer. As they get older, they often need help with daily daily activities or need supervision due to severe cognitive impairment. This has more impact on women because women often live longer than men and indirectly, they become caregivers for others.

Video Long-term care insurance

Benefits

Long-term care insurance can include home care, assisted living, adult day care, quiet care, home care, nursing homes, Alzheimer's facilities, and home modifications to accommodate disability. If home care insurance is purchased, long-term care insurance can pay for home care, often from the first day of need. It will pay to visit or stay in a nanny, friend, housekeeper, therapist or nurse private duty for up to seven days a week, 24 hours a day to maximize policy benefits. Many experts recommend shopping between the ages of 45 and 55 as part of an overall retirement plan to protect assets from high costs and extended health care expenses.

Other benefits of long term care insurance:

• Many individuals may feel uncomfortable depending on their children or family members for support, and find that long-term care insurance can help cover pocket expenses. Without long-term care insurance, the cost to provide these services can quickly spend their individual savings and/or families. Long-term care costs vary by region. The US government has an interactive map to estimate costs by country.
• The premiums paid for long-term care insurance products may be eligible for income tax deductions. The number of deductions depends on the age of the person covered. Benefits paid from long-term care contracts are generally excluded from income. Some states also have deductions or credits and the results are always tax free.
• Premium reduction by business is determined by the type of business. Generally a company paying a premium for an employee is 100% deductible if it is not included in the employee's taxable income.

In the United States, Medicaid will provide long-term care services for the poor or those who spend-under assets because of their care and depleting assets. In most countries, you have to spend up to $ 2000. If there is a spouse/spouse they can save an additional amount.

A welfare program, Medicaid does provide medically necessary services for people with limited resources who "need care in a nursing home but can stay home with special community-care services." However, Medicaid generally does not cover the long-term care provided at home or to live with assistance. People who need long-term care often prefer home care or in private spaces at assisted living facilities.

Maps Long-term care insurance

Policy type

Private long-term care insurance (LTC) is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. However, premiums have increased dramatically in recent years even for existing policyholders. The cost of coverage can be expensive, as consumers wait until retirement age to buy LTC coverage.

Due to US policy, two types of long-term care policies are offered: Traditional

• Policy is the most common policy on offer. Traditional policy premiums, such as auto insurance premiums, are paid on an ongoing basis. If not used, no premiums are refunded. However, if the policy has a "return premium" rider, the death benefit will be paid to the recipient if the insured dies when benefits received under the policy are less than the premium paid to the insurer. The amount of allowance equals the excess premium paid for benefits received.
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• Combination or hybrid policy is a combination of life insurance or annuity with long-term care insurance. Some variations of this combination exist.

Since it is associated with US income taxes, the two types of long-term care policies offered are:

• A tax-eligible (TQ) policy is the most common policy on offer. The TQ policy requires that a person be 1) expected to require treatment for at least 90 days, and can not do 2 or more daily activities (eat, dress, bathe, move, defecate, continuity) without any meaningful help (hand) active or alert); or 2) for at least 90 days, requiring substantial assistance due to severe cognitive impairment. In any case a doctor should provide a treatment plan. The benefits of a TQ policy can not be taxed.
• Quality non-tax (NTQ) was previously called traditional long-term care insurance. These often include "triggers" called triggers "medical needs fulfillment". This means that the patient's own physician, or a physician working with someone from an insurance company, may state that the patient needs treatment for medical reasons and the policy will pay. NTQ policy includes walking as a daily activity of life and usually requires only the inability to perform 1 or more activities of daily life. The Ministry of Finance has not yet clarified the status of benefits received under an unqualified long term care insurance plan. Therefore, the tax on these benefits is open to further interpretation. This means that it is possible that individuals who receive benefits under long-term uninsured long-term care insurance policies face huge tax bills for these benefits.

Non-tax qualifying policies are less available for sale. One reason is that consumers want to be eligible for tax deductions available when buying policies that meet tax requirements. Tax issues can be more complex than a matter of deduction alone, and it is advisable to seek good advice on all the pros and cons of policies that meet tax requirements versus policies that do not meet tax requirements, as those benefits trigger a favorable policy that does not qualify for better taxes. By law, policies that meet tax requirements have restrictions when policyholders can receive benefits. One survey found that sixty-five percent of buyers did not know whether the policy they were buying was a qualified tax.

After a person purchases a policy, the language can not be changed by an insurance company, and the policy is usually guaranteed to be renewable for life. This can not be canceled by the insurance company for health reasons, but can be canceled for not paying.

Most allowances are paid on a reimbursement basis and some companies offer higher loss-based allowances at a higher rate. Most policies cover only treatment in the continent of the United States. Policies covering care in certain foreign countries usually only cover nursing care and do so with rated benefits.

Group policies may have conditions for unrestricted or open period of registration and underwriting may be required. Group plans may or may not be guaranteed to be renewable or meet tax requirements. Some group plans include languages ​​that allow insurance companies to change policies with similar policies and to change premiums at that time. Some group plans may be canceled by the insurance company. To compensate for a higher group insurance risk plan may have higher deductions and lower benefits than individual plans. Some group plans have 3 ADLs (daily living activities) requirements for nursing care.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children for the continuation of health coverage at the group level.

Pension systems such as CalPERS can offer long-term care insurance similar to group plans. These organizations are not governed by the state insurance department. They can raise interest rates and make changes to policies without state oversight and approval.

Long term care insurance rates are determined by six major factors: one's age, daily (or monthly) benefits, how long the benefits are paid, the elimination period, inflation protection, and health rating (preferably, standard, sub-standard). Most companies will offer couples and multi-live discounts for each policy. Some companies define "spouses" not only for couples, but also for two people who meet the criteria for living together in a committed relationship and sharing basic living expenses. The average age of buyers has dropped from 68 years in 1990 to 61 years in 2005, and the number of buyers aged under 65 has significantly increased.

Most companies offer several premium payment modes: yearly, semi-annual, quarterly, and monthly. Companies can add a percentage for payments more often than annual. Options such as survival survival, non-forfeiture, benefit recovery and premium returns are available with most plans.

The 2005 Deficit Reduction Act makes Partnership plans available to all states. The Partnership provides "lifetime asset protection" of Medicaid's spending requirements. As of March 2014, 41 countries have an active long-term Care Insurance Partnership program.

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Feasibility and deductible

Most policies pay benefits when the policyholder needs help with two or more than six ADLs or when there is cognitive impairment. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, all long term care insurance plans that meet tax requirements have the same triggers.

Most policies have either an elimination period or a waiting period similar to deductibles. This is the period of time you pay for treatment before your allowance is paid. The removal of the day may be from 30 to 120 days after a long-term care incident, such as a fall or illness. Some policies require parties required to provide evidence of 30 to 120 days of paid care services before any benefits will be paid out. In some cases, options may be available to select zero day elimination when closed services are provided at home in accordance with the Treatment Plan.

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LTC Drivers in Canada

LTC Insurance drivers are generally available in Canadian policies including:

• ROPD - Premium return on death. Your premium is returned to your property.
• Protection from inflation - Benefits of the policy grow at the rate of return set.

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Nursing care in Germany

In Germany there are two types of care insurance: mandatory and voluntary care insurance, personal care insurance. German law requires people to have basic care insurance. This is one of five compulsory insurance, including health insurance, accidents, unemployment and pensions. As usual in the cost of the German public insurance system is shared equally between employers and employees. There are three types of private care insurance:

1. The most expensive form of private care insurance is like life insurance. It pays you a monthly pension when the insured needs to be taken care of, no matter what the actual maintenance costs are. When making a contract you can choose how much insurance pays each month, depending on the level of care.

2. Another form of private care insurance pays a certain percentage of the actual cost after compulsory care insurance has been paid. Here you can decide the percentage paid, depending on the level of care. The advantage of this type of insurance is that it pays more money when the maintenance costs are higher, so the risk of rising prices is lower for the insured.

3. The most common type of private care insurance pays a sum of money for each day when the insured is insured. The great advantage of this type of insurance is that the insurance does not pay attention to the level of care, which you should normally struggle for.

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See also

• Daily living activities
• CLASS ACTION
• Health insurance in the United States
• Long Term Care Benefit Plan

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References

src: hoffmanbrown.com

External links

• What to look for in the LTC policy of Consumer Reports (February 2011)
• US. Department of Health and Human Services Long Term Care Information
• American Association for Long Term Care Insurance - AALTCI
• Long Term Care Planning News
• National Institutes of Health
• National Insurance Association of LTC Section
• US Department of Health & amp; Human Aging, Care & amp; LTC
• Feasibility of Medicaid

Source of the article : Wikipedia