subject: Louisiana Long-Term Care Partnership [print this page] Louisiana Long-Term Care Partnership Louisiana Long-Term Care Partnership
A recent study conducted by AARP shows about seven million long term care insurance policies were in effect in 2005 nationally. And, the normal purchasers are rated to be at the age of 61. In Louisiana, residents age 85 and older are expected to grow to over 80 percent by 2030. Thus, the states' older population are faced towards a greater risk for chronic illnesses and increasing demand for long term care.
Statistics prove Louisiana's age 85 and up population the group of individuals most likely to require LTC will grow to 84 percent from 2007 to 2030 which, in effect, ranks the state 23rd among other states who have already gained growth rate in elderly population.
People in this state prefer to receive long term care at home, but it has been evident that over three-quarters of its Medicaid funds are spent on institutional care. Residents age 65 rely a lot on Medicaid which allows them to choose in-home care instead of nursing homes. The states' Home and Community-based service (HCBS) waivers freely grant Medicaid recipients to receive funding for in-home care.
In addition, about 24 percent of its Medicaid LTC dollars are spent for the elderly and adults with physical disabilities. This ranks Louisiana 22nd in spending on home and community-based services. Data also show that the state has the lowest average nursing home private pay rate at 125 dollars per day. Same thing goes with its home health aides which only rates 14 dollars per hour.
According to these results, most people in Louisiana support home and community-based services, although there are a lot of home care nursing. That's why in response to the growing need for long-term care services, the state of Louisiana developed a partnership program to address the needs of its residents.
The recent Long-Term Care Partnership Program is now available in Louisiana which offers a way for its citizens to protect their assets if they ever need to apply for Medicaid services. The initiative encourages citizens to partner with the state-based program as they purchase qualified private long-term care insurance policies.
In Louisiana, partnership policies are only marketed by licensed insurance professionals who have completed the training required by the state and, these policies must meet the state and federal partnership requirements. This means all partnership policies must provide protection of property, dollar for dollar. When put simply, that every dollar that the partnership policy pays out for a benefit entitles him to keep the same amount to apply for Medicaid services.
This program grants residents the advantage to help them protect their financial assets as a preparation for the costly health care nowadays.
