The Best Time to Purchase Long-Term Care Health Insurance Coverage
Part 4, Chapter 14: Specialized Situations: Coverage for Long-Term Care Page 8
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Long-Term Care Insurance
The timing is important, as well. If you wait until you have a serious illness before applying for a long-term care insurance policy, you may not be able to find a company that will issue a policy for you.
Before purchasing a long-term care policy, make certain that you understand exactly what the policy offers and what the economic costs and potential benefits are. If you're not sure of the meaning of some of the terms, limitations, or exclusions discussed in the policy, request additional information from the company.
In addition, it's important to read the booklets on long-term care published by various agencies and organizations (See Appendix B). Those booklets can offer a review of the overall issues, and can also offer up-to-date information on the rules related to coverage for long-term care offered through Medicare and Medicaid.
You may also want to discuss issues related to long-term care with a specially trained volunteer counselor. Each state has a free counseling program designed to help Medicare beneficiaries with health insurance problems. The program has a different official name in each state, but it's generally coordinated either by the state Department of Insurance, the Division on Aging, or another similar state agency. Medicare offers several publications that list the names of the relevant agencies in each state (See Appendix B). The United Seniors Health Cooperative, a private organization in Washington, D.C., can also offer information on long-term care issues.
Given the complex nature of the decision to purchase a long-term care policy, and the complicated question of when to apply for such a policy, it's essential to obtain advice from a financial planner and an attorney before making any decisions related to long-term care.
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