What is Long Term Care?

The care required when you are: no longer able to care for yourself independently, When you need assistance with daily living:

• Dressing
• Bathing
• Toileting
• Eating
• Continence
• Transferring (moving in and out of bed, chair, or wheelchair)

Supervision required due to a condition such as spinal cord injuries, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia,

Frailty due to advancing age…

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Worksite Facts

• The annual cost to companies for worker’s lost productivity due to elder care responsibilities is estimate at $3,412 per employee per year.
• Two-thirds of all caregivers also work either full-time or part-time, which represents 10% of the workforce.
• 20% of all caregivers provide care 40+ hours per week.
• The aging of the “Baby Boomer” generation could cause a labor shortage so severe that it could possibly result in an “Economic Catastrophe.”

Medicaid:
Most people are surprised to learn that their basic health plans do not cover long term custodial care. The problem is that many of these people learn after it is too late to plan ahead. Medicare plans pay for only skilled medical services, meaning less than 5% of long term care costs are paid through medicare. (1)

Medicaid, on the other hand, does cover long term care needs. However, Medicaid is a program designed to pay benefits only for those citizens who are deemed medically-indigent. Consequently, applicants must meet strict financial means tests in order to qualify for benefits.

In 2006, New Jersey residents were allowed only the following assets: their residence, $2,000 in assets, $1,500 for funeral expenses, and no more than $1,809 per month in total income. (2)

Some people have become beneficiaries by transferring assets to adult children in order to qualify for Medicaid. However, this practice is receiving a great deal of scrutiny as a result of the federally mandated Estate Recovery Act. The Look-Back provision allows Medicaid officials to search the past 36 months to determine if an applicant has transferred assets to another person. If so, the application for Medicaid benefits can be denied.

If you do not qualify for Medicaid:
Option #1: Using Family Assets:
One alternative if you need long term care is to consider using savings and other assets that can be turned into cash. Each family should determine if their assets are sufficient to cover at least three years in a long term care facility without causing financial ruin.

Option #2: Long Term Care Insurance:
Millions of people have purchased special coverage to protect their assets from being destroyed by long term care costs. This insurance is designed to cover custodial care in a variety of settings: nursing home, adult day are centers, private residences, assisted living facilities, etc.
Long term care insurance provides benefits for those who need help with daily living activities caused by physical or mental ailments. Unlike regular insurance or Medicare, it does cover custodial care in the setting of your choice and allows you to control your life!

(1) American Health Care Association
(2) 2006 Medicaid Qualification Guidelines