Legal & Financial
PAYING FOR LONG-TERM CARE
living facility or a skilled nursing facility, as well
as medical and prescription expenses. Please
consult an elder law attorney to determine
eligibility and to protect assets.
LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
The sole purpose of buying a long-term care
(LTC) insurance policy is to ensure that funds
will be available to pay long-term care bills for a
set period. Depending on the type of LTC policy
you purchase, a long-term care insurance policy
does pay for assisted living, nursing home, and
in-home care.
• Standard Provisions: LTC policies are not
standardized, resulting in many different
policy designs. It is important to know the
types of coverages available, then to compare
each policy before purchase to make sure the
policy quoted carries the desired benefits.
• Coverage: While LTC policies vary in coverage,
they will usually pay either a fixed dollar
amount (an indemnity) or the actual costs
of care (reimbursement policy). However,
policies that pay for actual costs typically have
a specified daily benefit that places a limit on
how much can be paid out each day. There
may also be a limit of a specified number of
days to be covered.
• Florida LTC Partnership Program: To
encourage individuals to purchase private
long-term care insurance, the State of
Florida has developed a partnership program
between Medicaid and private insurers.
Florida Long-Term Care Partnership Program
policies are tax qualified, provide inflation
protection and provide dollar for dollar asset
protection in the event you need to pay for
long-term care Medicaid assistance.
Life Insurance:
Certain life insurance policies can
be converted into long-term care Benefit
Plan Account to pay for long-term care. In
converting the policy, ownership of the policy
transfers to an entity that acts as a benefits
administrator and assumes all responsibility for
premium payments. To convert, the previous
policy holder must have an immediate need for
LTC, and he or she arranges monthly payouts to
help cover services. Payouts are made directly
to the care provider, not the previous policy
owner. Contact your insurance agent to see if
your policy is eligible for conversion.
REVERSE MORTGAGE
A reverse mortgage is a loan program
available to homeowners, 62 years or older,
that allows them to convert part of the equity
in their homes into cash. The reverse mortgage
was created to help retirees with limited
income use the accumulated wealth in their
homes to cover basic living expenses and pay
for health care. Funds from a reverse mortgage
can be used for any purpose. The loan is
called a reverse mortgage because instead
of making monthly payments to a lender, as
with a traditional mortgage, the lender makes
payments to the borrower. The borrower is not
required to pay back the loan until the home
is sold or otherwise vacated. The borrower is
not required to make any monthly payments
towards the loan balance as long as they occupy
the home. The borrower remains responsible
for property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and
homeowners association dues (if applicable).
VETERANS
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) may provide long-term care or at-home
care for some veterans and/or their spouses.
All Veterans enrolled in the VA’s health care
system are eligible for home and community
based long-term care services. A series of
clinical indicators and conditions help VA staff
identify the need for these services. Specific
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