subject: Partnership Long Term Care Plans Protect [print this page] Some people cant help but be confused by the objective of partnership long term care plans as they involve Medicaid, the federal health insurance program which is currently being restructured and thus not a very good option for the public.
Why are we encouraged to buy a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy that complies with the rules of a partnership program when we can just go directly to Medicaid?
Heres how LTCI professionals would simplify it.
Approaching Medicaid and applying for long term care assistance will require you to spend down your assets up to the required asset limit in your state of residence. In other words, you cannot pass the ownership of your properties to relatives because the state will find out about this. You have to literally spend every penny of your assets until you are practically living on food stamps.
After having achieved the spend-down requirement of Medicaid, thats the only time it will take you under its wing. The question at hand is, can you afford to dispose your hard earned money and properties just like that?
Besides, going Medicaid will not guarantee you of topnotch long term care. Truth of the matter is, so many Medicaid beneficiaries in nursing homes have been sent back to their homes where they can continue receiving care because the program is working on nursing home cost reduction.
Partnership Long Term Care Plans and Supplemental Medicaid
Now receiving Medicaid assistance through a partnership certified LTCI policy is a different story.
First of all, GETTING LTC QUOTES AND buying LTCI policy gives you the privilege to choose your preferred LTC setting. On the planning stage, you can choose a comprehensive policy which provides coverage in all kinds of LTC settings or opt for the facility-only LTCI policy.
LTCI experts dont encourage the facility-only policy because this limits the care that you can receive. If you dont wind up in a nursing home or a community-based LTC facility such as an assisted living center, you will not qualify for your insurance benefits.
It is important to note that not all LTCI policies are recognized by the partnership program. See to it that what you have has the states approval to ensure that you will receive all your benefits in the future. Most partnership qualified policies have a minimum benefit period which is usually three years.
Policies under the partnership program feature a dollar-for-dollar asset protection so a policyholder is entitled to apply for Medicaid in the future, which happens after he has exhausted his benefits, without spending down his assets.
Medicaid requires an individual to impoverish himself before he can qualify for LTC assistance. With a partnership LTCI policy you can protect your dignity and preserve your assets because you are exempted from this rule.
So even if you end up acquiring Medicaid after using up your insurance benefits, at least there is a delay. There is a big difference between relying solely on Medicaid and using it for supplemental care as offered by partnership long term care plans.
