Long-Term Care Insurance (redirected from Long term care insurance)

Long-Term Care Insurance

Insurance that is purchased against the possibility that the beneficiary will require long-term medical care for a debilitating but non-life threatening condition. For example, one may require long-term care if one is involved in a car accident or has a non-terminal disease that does not allow the sufferer to live independently. Long-term care insurance is designed to pay for at least some of the medical expenses associated with this. These policies provide a per diem or monthly allowance for expenses, as well as an elimination period, a period of time after the illness is diagnosed or the accident occurs, but before the insurer begins coverage. Policies with a higher per diem and shorter elimination period come with higher premiums.

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Long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance is a policy designed to cover at least some of your expenses if you have a chronic but not life-threatening illness, long-term disability, or you are unable to live independently because you can't perform a number of the activities of daily living.

Those activities typically include bathing, dressing, feeding yourself, taking medication, using the bathroom, and being able to move from a sitting to a standing position. Most contracts also cover cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Under the terms of most long-term care contracts, you can be cared for in a nursing home or at home. The insurance pays for custodial rather than skilled care, which must be provided by licensed professionals. Skilled care is covered in part by Medicare and Medigap.

Every policy provides a specific daily or monthly benefit for up to a predetermined benefit period. Each policy also has an elimination period, which lasts from the day you become eligible until the day the insurer begins to pay. You generally can choose the benefit, benefit period, and elimination period that makes the most sense to you and that you can afford.