Long term health care insurance: What to consider

Long term health care insurance is meant to cover costs incurred in long term care services. Such costs are not covered by the normal health or Medicare insurance. Long term health care insurance includes caring services or activities done in a community or your home.

Choosing a policy

A variety of plans The good thing about long term care insurance cover is the fact that you can choose a variety of care plans and benefits which suit your personal circumstances and needs. The type of services you need will determine how much you pay in premiums. The different policies offer different benefits in a variety of care settings ranging from your own home, a nursing home to an adult care centre. Benefits You can choose a daily benefit amount which you are comfortable with. Insurance companies have got different benefit limits. You also have an option of choosing a maximum lifetime benefit limit for your policy. Other long term care insurers provide are unlimited coverage. This means you will continue to receive benefits for as long as you need the long term care services. With long term care insurance, you can budget in advance because you will know the amount of premiums in advance.

Comprehensive or facility care

There are basically two broad types of long term care insurance plans. You must be able to know the type of cover you prefer. A comprehensive long term care policy will offer a wide range of services which include home-based care and other types of care facilities. A facility policy on the other hand will cover facility care services only, for example in nursing homes and not at home. Facility care policies are cheaper than comprehensive policies because they have limited cover.
Optional benefits It is also important to know the additional benefits which come with a long term care insurance policy. A good example is an inflation protection option. This will protect your policy from the rising cost of living over time. This provision works in the same manner like an inflationary clause on your home insurance. Some policies will pay family members or friends so that they can help to take care of you. This however is a very rare situation.