Who Pays for Long Term Care
If you, your spouse or family member were to need long term care, the cost could deplete more than your own hard-earned assets. Without long term
care insurance, the financial burden of caring for you could fall on your family.
Long Term Care is not paid by Health Insurance
You may think that long term care services are covered by your health plan or disability insurance. That's usually not the case. Health insurance
is designed to cover medical care for illnesses or injuries, such as cancer, a broken arm, or a stroke. For example, it will pay the hospital bills you
incur for a stroke. It won't pay for long term assistance with activities of daily living, such as dressing or using the bathroom.
As for disability insurance, it is designed to replace the income you lose if you're unable to work, due to accident or injury. Disability benefits will help
you pay your mortgage or your normal household expenses. Disability insurance provides no additional benefits for long term care.
Who Pays for Long Term Care?
Congress has made it clear with the passage of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, our federal government made it clear who is responsible for the cost of long-term care, and it is you. This
law clearly sent the message that the federal government has neither the intent or resources to fund a national long term care program, and that
individuals looking to protect themselves against the costs of LTC must look to the private market.
Medicare
does not cover most long term care.Medicare will pay the cost of some skilled care in an approved nursing home or in your home; but only if a medical professional says you need daily skilled care after you have
been hospitalized for at least three days and you are receiving care in a nursing home that is a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility.
You should not rely on Medicare to pay for your long-term care needs.
Medicaid will provide coverage only when your money and assets are virtually depleted. Even if you qualify for Medicaid, the nearest Medicaid
-eligible facility might be a great distance from your home, making it difficult or perhaps impossible for visits from family or friends.
|
