If you can afford long term care insurance, compare policy offerings and consider:
• What are the policy's limitations on home care?
• Does the policy pay family members for care giving?
• Does the policy pay for 24 hour a day home care? (most do not)
• What does it take to get the Policy pay benefits?
• How many months or days of care will the policy pay for?
• What is the daily benefit amount paid for care?
• Does the policy comply with the Division of Insurance notice and disclosure regulations? 211 CMR 65.09(1)(e)(2).
Very Important:
• Does the policy satisfy the MassHealth/Medicaid Regulation 130 CMR 515.011(B) exception to the estate recovery? Subsection (3) indicates the long term care policy must meet the requirements of 130 CMR 515.014 (benefit coverage of at least 730 days in nursing home (130 CMR 515.014(A)(3)) on the date of admission. You must have the full 730 days minimum coverage when "you enter a nursing home" to qualify for the estate recovery exemption.
Many consumers have purchased long-term care insurance thinking that they will qualify for the asset recovery exemption that protects their homes, because their policies meet the minimal standards for 730 days of coverage. What they may not know is that use of their policies to pay for community-based care prior to entering a nursing home may disqualify them from the estate recovery exemption! To solve this problem, the Massachusetts Legislature is considering a new law that would allow seniors who buy long term care insurance to use that insurance to pay for community-based care before they enter a nursing home without disqualifying them from the MassHealth estate recovery exemption.
Allowing seniors to use their long term care insurance for community-based care would enable more elders to remain in their homes, rather than forcing them into institutional care. The proposed law, An Act Relative to Nursing Facility Long Term Care Claims is sponsored by Senator O’Leary, Senator Chandler and Representative Fallon. To show your support, please call your state representative and state senator and ask them to support SD 331, SD 395, and HD 856. Get Contact Info for your State Senator and State Rep by town or zip code.
For More Information on the significance of this, and more information on Long Term Care Insurance, Click to Read A Special Continuing Education OUtline Prepared by Attorney Roberts: Is Long Term Care Insurance the Wave of the Future? A Comparison of Connecticut and Massachusetts LTC Insurance Plans.