Health Insurance Now !

Author Archive

The type of Long Term Care Insurance Policy chosen, daily benefit amount to be paid, your age, number of years the policy will pay benefits, choice of inflation protection and the number of days after you qualify for the benefits before the company will start to pay benefits are factors which influence your Long Term Care Insurance Policy Premium. If you have a pre-existing condition, your premiums may be higher if some companies agree to insure you. All of the above factors influence your LTCI policy premium.

Different LTCI companies calculate differently the cost of benefits you choose. This reason can result in significant differences between premiums for similar benefits. For example a company may calculate the premium based on every $10 of the daily benefit you choose. The premium would be $950 per year for a daily benefit of $100, if the company charged $95 for each $10 of daily benefit. With another company the annual premium would rise to $1,500 for a similar package of benefits with a cost of $150.

Your LTCI premium is affected by the method and amount of inflation protection chosen. This nearly doubles the cost for those in their 40s and 50s not expecting to need care for several years. With age your probability of developing health conditions which make you ineligible to apply for new benefits increases but your ability to change LTCI policy diminishes as you age.

You may see an increase in your LTCI premiums over the years. A personal worksheet which explains the rate increases the company has had since 1990 is provided to you by your agent when you buy a LTCI policy. For rate increases for every company that sells go to the California Department of Insurance website. LTC insurance companies found it difficult to increase future premiums when California passed legislation in 2000.

When it became mandatory in 2006 for all companies filing for premium increases over a certain amount to offer a choice, policy holders got to choose between stop paying their premium and keep the benefits equal to the total amount of premiums already paid. The sum of premiums that has already been paid will finance only a small amount of care. If you were unable to pay because of a premium increase, you will not lose all your benefits.

By reducing some of the policy benefits you can negotiate with your company for lower premiums. If you have received premium increase notice or you need to lower your premium contact your local Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) office.

Learn more about long term care insurance. Stop by Maria Smith’s site where you can find out all about long term care health insurance and what it can do for you.

Long Term Care is services used by people with chronic illness or disabilities. It is help needed with daily activities such as eating, bathing, using the bathroom, dressing, moving from bed to chair etc. Medicare pays only for skilled care and help with daily activities such as eating and bathing is not skilled care. Medicare does not pay for care in your home, in a nursing home or in an assisted living centre. Medicaid kicks in only after a person’s assets are gone.

Long Term Care Insurance pays for expenses resulting from long term care. The need for this kind of care increases with increasing life expectancy. When the last of the baby boomers reach 65 by 2030, 40% of them will live to be 90. 70 percent of people over age 65 will require some kind of help with daily activities at some point in their lives. Any one can have an injury or an accident at anytime and be forced to seek this kind of help.

40% of people receiving these services are working age adults between 18 and 64 years. Buying early a long term health care insurance locks in rates which you can not receive at a later age and guarantees you coverage when you need it the most. You cannot buy this kind of insurance at a time of crisis or only at the time you need it.

Most times children or family want to help. But very often children have their own young ones to take care of or are unable to quit their jobs and relocate to help their aged parents. Maximum coverage long term care health insurance provides you the financial freedom to choose the kind of care you want and where you want to receive it.

Many desire to leave their life savings to their family instead of spending it on hospital and nursing home bills. Long Term Care Insurance not only protects your assets but should you overcome the need for help with daily living activities you will still have your savings to enjoy when you recover.

Learn more about Long Term Care Insurance. Stop by Maria Smith’s site where you can find out all about Long Term Care Health Insurance and what it can do for you.