About the Federal
Government Long Term Care Insurance Program
In February of 2006 President
Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Act of 2005 (DRA).
This new law allows for nationwide expansion of Long Term Care
Partnership programs and tightens the eligibility rules for
Medicaid. Ultimately this is great news for the LTC Insurance
industry.
Long Term Care Insurance Partnership
policies allow consumers to protect some of their assets that
they would most likely have to spend down to qualify for Medicaid
when needing Long Term Care. Until the DRA came into effect
there were only 4 states that participated in the Partnership
Programs which include Indiana, California, Connecticut, and
New York. Now there are over 20 states that are authorizing
legislation(1.).
The changes made to Medicaid
eligibility will make it more difficult for individuals to qualify
for coverage. These changes are the look-back period is now
changed from 3 to 5 years and one must meet the required spend
down limits prior to the penalty period. Individuals will be
ineligible for Medicaid coverage if they have home equity more
than $500,000-$75,000 (depending on the state).
1. http://www.aarp.org/research/longtermcare/insurance/fs124_ltc_06.html
Source: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/meetingnotes_04242006_Documents_171879_7.pdf
Further
Information regarding Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Programs
Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Programs
were developed in the 1980's to encourage people to who might want
to turn to Medicaid for their LTC to purchase LTC Insurance. The requirements
the Partnership policies must have is that they must be tax-qualified
and Compound Inflation will be required for individuals under the
age of 61. Below are State's that currently have Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Policies for Sale, in which select states have a webpages with further information completed:
For further information on Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Policies visit LTCPartnershiponly.com.
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