Long-Term Care Insurance Basics

Unlike traditional health insurance, Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance is designed to cover long-term services and supports, including personal and custodial care in a variety of settings such as your home, a community organization, or other facility.
LTC insurance policies reimburse policyholders a daily amount (up to a pre-selected limit) for services to assist them with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, or eating.  You can select a range of care options and benefits that allow you to get the services you need, where you need them.
The cost of your LTC policy is based on:

• How old you are when you buy the policy
• The maximum amount that a policy will pay per day
• The maximum number of days (years) that a policy will pay
• The maximum amount per day times the number of days determines the lifetime maximum amount that the policy will pay.
• Any optional benefits you choose, such as benefits that increase with inflation

If you are in poor health or already receiving long-term care services, you may not qualify for LTC insurance as most individual policies require medical underwriting. In some cases, you may be able to buy a limited amount of coverage, or coverage at a higher “non-standard” rate.  Some group policies do not require underwriting.

Information from LongTermCare.Gov, What is Long-term Care Insurance?