Tuesday, October 23, 2012

All About Long Term Care Insurance

By Lois Hudson


With the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, long term care insurance is more necessary today then ever before. The cost of health care is rising, and so too is this type of insurance which can help protect your family from financial ruin if you need it.

This will cover you for what normal insurance, Medicare and Medicaid do not. It will provide a way for you to have assistance with daily activities and can include dressing, walking, bathing and help with bedtime activities like lying down or rising as well as other things.

It can be expensive to obtain, and if you wait until you are older the price may be even more so. There are two types of policies that are offered, and each offers a different tax problems, and you need to look at your options very carefully before you choose.

One type is Tax Qualified, or TQ. This is the most common type that is offered and bought, and has a qualifier to be able to use it. In general, this is used when you need more then 90 days worth of continuous care and are unable to perform 2 daily activities for yourself without any assistance. The services that you get are unable to be taxed.

Non-Tax Qualified, or NTQ, must have a doctor state that it needs to go into effect before the policy will pay. It also limits the requirement for assistance with daily activities to just one, and a doctor can state that you are in need of this type of care to start it. There are very few of these policies available for sale, and the services can be taxed so you may have a bigger bill with this type.

A quote can help you in many ways. Since the cost to this is often different from age and areas, making sure you are getting the best price can save you a lot of money. You can also use the agent to explain the tax differences and use them to give you the knowledge to make the choice that best fits for you. Be aware, most of these policies cannot be canceled if you are current on the payment and they can be renewed for life.

Long term care insurance is often only available to be used in the continental US. It can be used to keep your independence in your own home, and help you keep the day to day activities that you may not be able to do for yourself while protecting your finances.




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