Long-Term Planning for Long-Term Care

Medicaid and Medicare are insurance programs that were both created by federal law but that is where the similarities generally stop. Medicare is an insurance program from those over 65 and will pay for some rehabilitative services, while Medicaid is an insurance program for those that meet certain income and assets requirements and will pay for long-term care. For those that do not qualify for Medicaid but need long-term care such as a nursing home, there are other options.

Long-term care (LTC) insurance is expensive and fewer insurance companies carry it, but there are other products that have emerged that offer the same features outside of an LTC setting. There are also Medicare Supplement insurance which covers the “gap” between what Medicare will pay out and what a person’s medical expenses are. Advantage Plans are also referred to as “Part C” plans because you will still retain your Medicare benefits but are offered through a private company. The private company may require you to pay extra out-of-pockets costs, though.

See Rebekah Jones, Long-Term Planning for Long-Term Care, Brentwood Home Page, May 28, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.