Long-Term Care Insurance
Coverage varies widely depending on the provider and the needs of the customer. In addition, different states have different home care and assisted living facilities and these vary the cost of the long-term care insurance.
These include home care, living assistance, and daycare for adults. The long term insurance packages also contain tax benefits such that the beneficiary does not need to pay tax on the payments received (Health and Human Services Paying For Long-Term Care, 2010).
Beneficiaries obtain financial coverage of long-term care. The long-term care insurance allows one to make use of their savings and life insurance for other purposes. Under the federal program members benefit from a group rate lower than individual payment rates. To qualify for long-term insurance, the purchaser should not have a preexisting medical condition.
Anyone above 18 years may purchase long term insurance. Limitation may come in because purchase of long-term insurance from non-qualified companies jeopardizes ones benefits. Secondly, monthly premiums are expensive (All About Long Term Care, 2010).
Medicare
Medicare is a form of insurance. It exists in three forms namely Medicare as hospital insurance, Medicare as medical insurance and Medicare as prescription drug coverage.
In addition, there are medical advantage plans provided by private companies. They encompass one or more of the other categories of Medicare. Medicare covers hospitalization bills, doctors’ fees and drug costs depending on the type of Medicare. Qualification for Medicare is only available to people above the age of 65. People with certain disabilities and falling below the age also qualify.
The beneficiary has to pay regularly for the program. Medicare limitation is that the financial compensation under Medicare may be insufficient to cover all long-term costs (Who pays for long-term Care?, 2010).
Medicaid
With Medicaid, the beneficiary receives long-term home care within their community or in a nursing home. With Medicaid, the beneficiary does not have to leave their home, instead they can ask for care provisions at home.
Members must be earning low incomes and have limited resources to access Medicaid. Limitations for Medicaid are that the beneficiary can only access the service form a licensed facility for Medicaid. Moreover, the facility must have a capacity for caring for the patient (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2010).
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
Long-term costs are taken care by monthly fees and entry fees. In addition, there is a centralized care within communities for all beneficiaries.
Members get nursing services, healthcare services and social services. All members have access to assisted facilities and may live alone or in shared apartments. The requirements for CCRC include a provision that the beneficiary must be able to purchase the monthly payments for care.
There is also an entry fee that is payable at the beginning of the contract period. On payment of extra fees, beneficiaries also get care in assisted facilities. However, this provision only exists in some CCRC programs. Otherwise, one automatically benefits from a lifetime contract after paying normal fees (Health and Human Services Paying For Long-Term Care, 2010).
Limitations for CCRC are that continuing care has a high purchase price. The program also has an entry fee that might be non-refundable. Provisions vary with the type of CCRC with some having no provision for other long-term care costs. Thus, the beneficiary has to pay for extra care. The beneficiary has to relocate to an assisted facility or nursing home (Health and Human Services Paying For Long-Term Care, 2010).
References
All About Long Term Care. (2010). Web.
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2010). Web.
Health and Human Services Paying For Long-Term Care. (2010). Web.
Who Pays for Long-term Care? (2010). Web.