Since I trust all of you as my very best advisors, I have a question about this policy that my dh bought himself in the mid 90's. It's a STCP and does cover dementia, pays only $80/day and covers "Nursing Facility Care", meaning skilled nursing care; intermediate nursing care; or custodial care. What does custodial care mean? Benefit period = 360 days with a Lifetime Maximum Benefit of 720 days. I am not schooled in "insurance" speak so I'm not sure what all this means to me and dh. Thanks for your help.
Mutual of Omaha. I just purchased a LTC policy from them for myself. I was about to drop this policy because I didn't think it would be helpful to dh; now, I'm not sure why I thought that. I guess I better ask my insurance professional. I'm beginning to think AD is contagious - my own memory is pretty bad these days - scary!
Okay, I just asked Google and it took me to an AARP site talking about Medicare and Medicaid. Basically, Medicare will already cover the expenses of a short term stay in a skilled nursing facility, that's why I thought I didn't really need this policy (now I remember). Most short term stays are for the purpose of rehabilitation from surgery or recovery from some ailment or another vs long term care where you aren't recovering from anything, just being cared for and Medicare will not pay for that - Medicaid will pay for that if you qualify. Although, my memory (admittedly spotty at times) tells me that Medicare will only pay up to 100 days for any one stay for rehab. My dh's policy isn't limited to rehab, so, maybe I should keep it, it might help me pay for a portion of his expenses one day. Iat costs $250/year and that's about the cost of one day in a facility today - yeah, I think I'll keep it.
mothert--DO NOT CANCEL THAT POLICY! Got that? Medicare does not pay for custodial care, which basically, is help with ADL's. Exactly what an aide does for a dementia patient. It sounds like the policy could cover several years of an aide helping in your home--for example, in this area, $80/day would pay for 4 hours of an aide from an agency. Medicare wouldn't pay for a dime of that; to get that from Medicaid, you'd have to be impoverished and qualify for what's called Medicaid Waiver (in my state) and there's at least a 6 year waiting list.
Go through the policy with a fine tooth comb, write down your questions, and call the company for clarification. It is quite possible that once your husband starts using the coverage, you won't have to pay the $250 premium anymore--that's one of the questions you should ask them.
Thank you, MarilynMD, I will do just that. I do not know what made me think that I should cancel this policy, but I have definitely seen the light. I will study this policy and see what I have.
I just went through the process of deciding if I should pay the large yearly premium for LTC for myself. I just didn't want to part with that money. However, upon reflection of how much just one year of nursing care could cost me, I decided that the yearly premium could be a bargain - you never know.
mothert----your policy may only pay for in-facility care----you just need to call the company and find out. My DH has a policy like that---it was a benefit of his employer right before he retired, but we now pay a monthly premium to keep it in place. When he does have to go to a nursing home, Alzheimer facilty, or something similar, then the premiums will be waived, and there is also a 20 day elimination period, meaning the first 20 days in the facility are private pay. Also, I have started looking at facilities, and I ask each one about his particular policy, it is MetLife, because at some of the homes they handle the filing for you. So they would get paid directly by the company and bill you the difference, which would be good for cash-flow, as opposed to you paying and getting reimbursed, which some policies do.