What is Long-Term Care Insurance for Senior Home Care?
Long-term care insurance is insurance that provides a safety net for seniors who will need help as they age. It is not life insurance. Long-term care insurance provides funds or reimbursement for in-home care services costs, nursing home costs, assisted living costs, or adult daycare costs. So yes, if you plan on aging in place, the benefits paid out by long term care insurance for senior home care will apply. Who needs long-term care insurance? Everyone and anyone who plans on aging in their own homes or who will need help with activities of daily living within any type of senior facility.
Most people begin looking into long-term care insurance in their 50’s. People who need long-term care insurance are those who recognize the likelihood of dealing with a chronic or debilitating illness like arthritis or Alzheimer’s disease in their later years. Long-term care insurance will help cover the cost of care relating to those types of illnesses. Regular health insurance does not cover any costs related to this type of care.
Why Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?
It is estimated that over half of those 65 years old will develop some kind of disability that will increase the likelihood of needing some kind of assistance in the home or a facility. Medicare and Medicaid only help in the slightest ways. Medicare will provide aid for short term nursing stays and some skilled nursing and rehabilitation aid in the home, if needed. Medicaid will help in dire situations for those with low incomes or for those that have completely exhausted all other financial resources. Without long-term care insurance, any home care services is paid out of pocket. Depending on how much assistance is needed, that can get expensive fast.
What are Activities of Daily Living?
When you begin researching different long-term care insurance policies, you will see the term, activities of daily living, come up a lot. Activities of daily living include: bathing, toileting, transferring, mobility assistance, eating, dressing, etc. With more Long-term care insurance policies, you will usually become eligible when you cannot perform these activities without some kind of assistance. Reimbursement begins after what is called an “elimination period” that may last on average between 30 and 90 days. The elimination period and what documentation will need to be submitted to the insurance provider will be based on the policy that has been chosen.
2nd Family and Long-Term Care Insurance
Like any kind of insurance, it can be a bear to navigate all the jargon and requirements for reimbursement. This is where 2nd Family steps in and takes the burden off their clients. 2nd Family’s caregivers enter pertinent information after every shift. If the client has long-term care insurance, this shift information is packaged and submitted to the LTC insurance provider by a 2nd Family manager for reimbursement. This service is unique to 2nd Family and is another way 2nd Family sets itself apart from other home care agencies.
So do you need long-term care insurance? Are you over 50? Are you predisposed to certain disabilities or chronic illnesses? Do you want to age in your home? Do you have children or a support system that will provide care in your later years? If you’ve answered no to any of the questions above, it would be beneficial to look into long-term care insurance policies now.
If you have questions about how 2nd Family handles long-term care insurance, please call 2nd Family toll free at 888-808-4FAM now. A 2nd Family representative will be happy to answer any questions you have regarding our processes and technology.