Long Term Care Insurance Consumer's Guide; Long Term Health Care Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance

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Our editors selected these web pages and brochures from government, education, and non-commercial sites as a cross section of information about these subjects.

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The resources on this page are intended to help you research and answer questions you might have about long term care insurance. If your need for information is more urgent --a complaint or problem related to insurance, for instance-- consider looking at these consumer help web sites first:

web page:
Directory of State Insurance Department Web Sites

source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners
about the source: "...the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories...."

languages: English
from the web page: "Your state insurance department is your best source for information on company and agent licensing requirements, as available products and other insurance industry issues...."

also at National Association of Insurance Commissioners:
web page
File a Consumer Complaint:
languages: English
from the web page: "From this page, you can file a complaint directly with your state insurance department...."

web page:
Law and Aging Resource Guide — Find Legal Help in Your State

source: American Bar Association - Commission on Law and Aging
about the source: "The mission of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging is to strengthen and secure the legal rights, dignity, autonomy, quality of life, and quality of care of elders. It carries out this mission through research, policy development, technical assistance, advocacy, education, and training..."

languages: English

web page:
Long-Term Care Insurance

source: National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information
about the source: "This web site was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide information and resources to help you and your family plan for future long-term care (LTC) needs...."

languages: English

from the web page: "What is Long-Term Care Insurance? Coverage and Benefit Choices - Long-Term Care Insurance Costs and Receiving Benefits - Buying Long-Term Care Insurance - State Partnership Long-Term Care Insurance Programs - New National Partnership Initiative..."

web page:
10 Things You Should Know About Buying Long-Term Care Insurance

source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners
about the source: "...the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories...."

languages: English

from the web page: "10 Things You Should Know Before Buying Lont-Term Care Insurance. 10 Things You Should Know About Buying Long-Term Care Insurance Long-Term Care is Different From Traditional Medical Care Someone with a prolonged physical illness, a disability or a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimers disease..."

also at National Association of Insurance Commissioners:
web page
NAIC ADOPTS NEW LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
languages: English
from the web page: "The Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted several revisions to the Long Term Care Model Act and Regulation during its Fall National Meeting in St. Louis, including provisions that will increase access to care and allow insurance consumers more flexibility in managing the cost of their coverage. ..."

web page:
What to Look for In a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy

source: ElderLawAnswers
about the source: "ElderLawAnswers supports seniors, their families and their attorneys in achieving their goals by providing the following services: ...information on the Internet about crucial legal issues facing seniors..."

languages: English
from the web page: "One of the difficulties in shopping for long-term care insurance is that the different policies are almost impossible to compare. The first step is to choose a solid insurance company. Because it is likely you won't be using the policy for many years, you want to make sure the company will still be around when you need it. Make certain that the insurer is rated in the top two categories by one of the services that rates insurance companies, such as A.M. Best, Moodys, Standard & Poor’s, or Weiss...."

web sites:
Ratings and Analysis of Long Term Insurance Companies

A.M. Best Company, Inc
from the web site: "The largest and longest-established company devoted to issuing in-depth reports and financial-strength ratings about insurance organizations.."

Moody's Investors Service
from the web site: "Moody's Investors Service is among the world’s most respected and widely utilized sources for credit ratings, research and risk analysis..."

Moody's Investors Service
from the web site: "Standard & Poor’s is a leading provider of financial market intelligence. The world’s foremost source of credit ratings, indices, investment research, risk evaluation and data, ..."

TheStreet.com Ratings, Inc
from the web site: "We are proud to offer a complete line of products designed to direct consumers and business professionals alike toward safe investment and insurance options while avoiding unnecessary risks that could lead to financial losses..."

web page:
A Woman's Guide to Long-Term Care

source: American Council of Life Insurers
about the source: "The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is a Washington D.C.-based trade association ... ACLI represents 353 life insurance companies operating in the United States before federal and state legislators, regulators, and courts."

languages: English
from the web page: "...Three out of four current nursing home residents are women; Women are almost twice as likely to need a nursing home after age 65 and more likely to have a longer length of stay; Elderly women living alone are less likely to have a family caregiver, and therefore have a greater need for additional financial resources to cover long-term care costs in nursing homes or assisted living facilities..."

also at American Council of Life Insurers:
brochure
long-term care insurance: Protection for Your Future
8 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "A lifetime of retirement savings can be wiped out by an unexpected need for nursing home, assisted living, or at-home care. Long-Term Care insurance can cover the costs of those long-term care services and protect lifetime savings. This guide answers commonly asked questions about long-term care insurance and provides a checklist for selecting a policy. ..."

brochure
Long-Term Care Insurance Policy Checklist
2 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "Use this checklist to help you compare policies offered by different companies, or different policies offered by the same company...."

brochure
Long-Term Care Insurance or Medicaid: Who Will Pay for Baby Boomers' Long-Term Care?
26 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "This study projects LTC expenditures to the year 2030 and determines the subsequent effects on Medicaid and on out-of-pocket costs. The study then evaluates the extent private LTC insurance could alleviate both the societal and personal burdens of paying for long-term care...

brochure:
Understanding Long Term Care Insurance - Advance Preparation

source: American Health Care Association - LongTermCareLiving.com
about the source: "Sponsored by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, LongTermCareLiving.com provides consumers with needed information nursing homes, assisted living/residential care, and other types of long term care."

5 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "...Long term care insurance is an excellent way to protect yourself from these expenses, and this brochure will help you through the important process of understanding and comparing long term care insurance policies. Finding a good policy will take some effort, but the effort will be worthwhile. To help you start, here are some steps to take when considering the purchase of long term care insurance..."

web page:
Long-Term Care Insurance: The Essentials®

source: MetLife Mature Market Institute
about the source: "The MetLife Mature Market Institute is the company’s information and policy resource center on issues related to aging, retirement, long-term care and the 50+ marketplace..."

languages: English
from the web page: "...an educational guide and a general introduction to long-term care insurance. It defines terminology generally used in the industry, presents some basic issues, and provides answers o some frequently asked questions..."

web page:
Consumer’s Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning

source: American Bar Association - Commission on Law and Aging
about the source: "The mission of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging is to strengthen and secure the legal rights, dignity, autonomy, quality of life, and quality of care of elders. It carries out this mission through research, policy development, technical assistance, advocacy, education, and training..."

languages: English
from the web page: "...Good advance planning for health care decisions is, in reality, a continuing conversation - about values, priorities, the meaning of one's life, and quality of life. To help you in this process, this tool kit contains a variety of self-help worksheets, suggestions, and resources..."

brochure:
Own Your Future - Planning guide for long-term care

source: America's Health Insurance Plans
about the source: "AHIP is the national association representing nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans."

12 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "...What is long-term care? Insurance is an important tool for protecting yourself against risk. For instance, health insurance pays your doctor and hospital bills if you get sick or injured. But how can you protect yourself against the significant financial risk posed by the potential need for longterm care services, either in a nursing home or in your own home? Long-term care goes beyond medical care and nursing care to include all the assistance you could need if you ever have a chronic illness or disability that leaves you unable to care for yourself for an extended period of time. ..."

also at America's Health Insurance Plans:
brochure:
An Employer's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance
8 pages; languages: English
from the brochure: "...Long term care - it may well be the nation’s greatest uninsured need. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans describes “a potentially… serious long-term care crisis in the United States.” One reason for the concern is that Americans are getting older. The U.S. Census Bureau expects today's 65 or older population to double to about 70 million in 2030, and the 85 and older population to nearly double to about 8.5 million. An aging population means greater health care needs, particularly for long-term care services. ..."

Long Term Care Partnership Information & Resources

A Note About The Long-Term Care (LTC) Partnership:
The Long Term Care Partnership, a joint program between the federal and state governments, is an important topic that should be investigated by anyone seeking information about or considering a purchase of Long Term Care Insurance. We leave it to our readers to decide wether this program is for them --or not-- but urge you to take the time to aquaint yourself with the program as part of your consumer education in the field of Long Term Care Insurance.

web sites:
States Participating in the Long Term Care Partnership Program (as of Jan 1 2008)

California Partnership Home Page
Connecticut Office of Policy and Management
Florida Department of Financial Services
Idaho Long Term Care Partnership Program
Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program
Kansas Partnership for Long-Term Care

Minnesota Long Term Care Partnership
Nebraska Department of Insurance
New York State Partnership for Long-Term Care
South Dakota Long-Term Partnership Program
Virginia Long-Term Care Partnership

web page:
Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Programs

source: AARP Policy & Research
about the source: "...features authoritative information on issues affecting the 50+ population. This expanding collection of research publications, speeches, legal briefs and opinion pieces seeks to provide deeper insight and fresh perspectives to opinion leaders, scholars and other professional audiences. "

languages: English
from the web page: "...The long-term care insurance (LTCI) partnership program was developed in the 1980s to encourage people who might otherwise turn to Medicaid to finance their long-term care (LTC) to purchase LTCI. If people who purchase qualifying policies deplete their insurance benefits, they may then retain a specified amount of assets and still qualify for Medicaid, provided they meet all other Medicaid eligibility criteria. ..."

web page:
The Long-Term Care Partnership Program: Issues and Options

source: The Brookings Institution
about the source: "...The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations ... "

languages: English
from the web page: "... one idea being promoted is the expansion of the LTC Partnership Program. Started as a demonstration and limited to four states, the Partnership combines private LTC insurance with special access to Medicaid for those exhausting their insurance benefits. The idea is to encourage citizens to purchase a limited, and therefore more affordable, amount of LTC insurance coverage, with the assurance that they could receive additional LTC services through the Medicaid program as needed after their insurance coverage is exhausted...."

State Guides to Long Term Care Insurance

Articles, assistance and information from the state governments and other resources about Long Term Care Insurance. These pages also include (when available) listings and contact information of insurance companies approved by the state insurance offices to offer Long Term Care policies. Includes information on state Long Term Care partnership programs.

Special series:

I need to know about: Long Term Care Insurance

Plain talk, no selling, by and for ordinary people.
Our I need to know series provides basic information about topics that are important to American families and businesses. The authors of these WebPages do not sell products or services, nor do they endorse or recommend particular products.

Are you doing your research before considering long term care insurance?

Plain talk about Long Term Care and Long Term Care Insurance

This is one of those things in life that it's no fun to think about, one of those subjects you know you should face before it gets too late. The insurance industry has anticipated our fears of someday loosing the ability to care for ourselves --to need long term care. Our goal is to present the basic facts of long term care and the insurance coverage for it in simple, plain talk. We have no hidden agenda: we don't sell insurance, we aren't connected to the industry in any way, and we won't ask you to leave your name or e-mail for a "special offer". You'll find no endorsements here for products or services. (We do, however, accept limited, selected advertising.)

Along the way to collecting information about Long Term Care Insurance, we've discovered a few hazards that we'll point out: things like tricky sales techniques, complicated policy terms, and others.

We have also collected a thorough assortment of links to more information. You'll find Federal and State Governments, organizations, and private websites that can add to the basic information we'll give you.

More topics in this series of articles:

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Long Term Care Insurance
A consumer's guide to assistance and help about Long Term Care Insurance, and Long Term Care Planning, with a directory of state guides for long term care insurance information.