AL Average daily benefit purchased: $ 139 per day.

There are close to 4.8 million people who call Alabama home, and according to the US Census, over 650,000 of those residents are 65 years plus. That’s over half a million people and counting in the Yellowhammer State who will increasingly need and use Long Term Care services (i.e. home health care, care in nursing homes, and/or care in assisted living facilities). If not prepared with Long Term Care Insurance, this growing number of seniors will put increasing economic stress on families and the state of Alabama. In 2011, the total Long Term Care Medicad expenses alone in Alabama were almost $1.5 billion. What’s more, Alabama has the second highest rates for home health care in the nation, making long term care particularly expensive for Alabamians.

The good news is, Alabama residents have the choice of around 17 great Long Term Care Insurance companies that can help protect their savings in the event they need Long Term Care services. This selection of Long Term Care insurance companies is helpful when planning for retirement and securing your financial future.

The Alabama Medicaid Agency, the Alabama Department of Insurance and private insurance companies have worked together to establish the Alabama Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program. This program is designed to encourage Alabamians to purchase long term care insurance by offering a plan that will allow Medicaid to disregard some or all of the purchaser’s assets for Medicaid eligibility (as well as estate recovery). These Partnership Plans help provide residents of Alabama with asset protection in the event they use their policy benefits and need to seek continued benefits through Medicaid.

More on Alabama

Alabama,  has instituted a program to tackle the problem of lack of Long Term Care Insurance coverage for its residents via a partnership program between private industry and the State.  Alabama’s population is rapidly aging and awareness of the need for Long Term Care Insurance remains low.  Long Term Care Insurance covers the cost of services such as nursing homes, in-home care and assisted-living care when one is unable to care for themselves and is not covered by regular health insurance and only by Medicaid if one qualifies, which can be difficult without exhausting all of your assets.

The Alabama Long Term Care Insurance partnership program aims to encourage you to purchase long term care insurance by offering a plan that will allow Medicaid to disregard some or all of your assets for Medicaid eligibility and estate recovery purposes.  A recent study found that 7 in 10 Americans have made no plans for long-term care and many were not even aware of this type of insurance and what it covers. And, given that the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 2/3 of all Americans will need long-term care at some point after they pass age 65, this does, indeed, constitute a problem to be reckoned with. Many Americans, regardless of the state in which they live, are now at risk of having to exhaust their nest egg or rely on their children or other relative to care for them in retirement should they become unable to care for themselves.

Residents of Alabama are able to participate in the Alabama Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program via a number of policy options that meet certain state mandated criteria.   Alabama, like many states, aims to reward those who do their part in solving this problem of Long Term Care Insurance coverage by planning ahead and protecting themselves and their assets.  Basically, it works like this: purchasers of partnership policies are eligible for Medicaid asset protection which means that Partnership Plans help provide you with asset protection in the event you use your policy benefits and need to seek continued benefits through Medicaid. This enables partnership policyholders to shield their assets should they need to apply for Medicaid as normally one is required to exhaust all assets before qualifying for Medicaid’s long-term care coverage.

Highlights and requirements of the Alabama Partnership Program include:

In order for a policy to qualify as a Partnership Policy, it must, among other requirements:

• Must be issued to an individual on or after March 1, 2009;
• cover an individual who was an Alabama resident when coverage first becomes effective under the policy;
• be a tax-qualified policy under Section 7702(B)(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
• meet stringent consumer protection standards; and Also: meet the following inflation requirements:
• For ages 60 or younger – provides compound annual inflation protection
• For ages 61 through 75 – provides some level of inflation protection
• For ages 76 and older – no purchase of inflation protection is required

The inflation requirements are crucial here. Inflation protection insures that your policy will pay out in tomorrow’s dollars and that your covered for the care you need. You can start planning today for your future long term care needs and securing all that you have worked so hard to achieve for your retirement by purchasing a Long Term Care Insurance policy.   LTC Tree can assist you in finding a plan through the Alabama Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program that is right for you, no matter your age or financial status.  If you’d like to learn more about our affordable Long Term Care Insurance policies, simply fill out this form.  Thank you for reading today’s blog. We really appreciate it.