Long-Term Care Insurance
Many of our clients utilize long-term care insurance to pay a portion, or all of their in-home care. At Right at Home Milwaukee North, we have simplified the process for long-term care insurance. We are pre-approved and work with most major long-term care Insurance companies. Many times, we find families struggle with the following:
- Understanding their benefits
- When is the right time to start a claim?
- Starting a Claim
- Elimination Period
- Submitting invoices and care logs
Give us a call or submit your information if you are now ready for Right at Home to handle the heavy-lifting that comes with utilizing your long-term care insurance policy for caregivers. Right at Home will provide a free policy review. Our goal is to be a resource and guide families through this complicated insurance process.
Long-Term Care Insurance FAQ's
Long-term care insurance policies reimburse policyholders a daily amount (up to a pre-selected limit) for services to assist them with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, or eating, and transfers.
Benefit triggers: Are the criteria insurance policies use to determine if you are eligible for long-term care benefits. Are determined through a company sponsored nurse/social worker assessment of your condition. Usually are defined in terms of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), or cognitive impairments.
The daily benefit amount is the maximum amount LTC policies will pay for each day of care. Some policies pay this amount when you are in a nursing home, but only a percentage of that amount for all other types of care.
The best time to start a claim is when any qualifying need emerges, as covered by the policy. The sooner the process begins the quicker coverage will start. The initial claim process can be onerous, and takes time, sometimes weeks. Accordingly, the sooner that steps are taken to activate the policy the better.
Long-term care policies vary widely. Most provide a daily amount of coverage, yet the level is different among policies – even with the same insurer. The elimination period can vary, as some stipulate the number of days, where others may have a minimum dollar amount that has to be exceed before payment begin. Some policies have a maximum life-time limit in terms of payout, whereas other have no limit. Accordingly, it’s very important to review your policy in detail.
Elimination Period Defined: For some policies, the elimination period is dates of service, and in others, it is calendar days. Typically, the longer the elimination period a policy has, the more affordable the policy will be. Most of the insurance policies that have the best premiums have a 90-day elimination period. If you choose to select a longer elimination period, you may find a better premium rate.
Many long-term care policies exclude coverage for the following: Mental and nervous disorders or diseases (except organic brain disorders) Alcoholism and drug addiction. Illnesses caused by an act of war. Treatment already paid for by the government.
We help provide all the information that you need to submit to your LTC insurance company, and in some situation provide the information directly to them. This includes care logs, invoices, account numbers, and the billing codes to help assure that complete information is submitted every time for faster reimbursements to you.
Are LTC Insurance Benefits Tax-Free? The general rule is that benefit payments received under a qualified LTC policy are federal-income-tax-free.