MT Average daily benefit purchased: $ 141 per day.

The http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/sltc/programs/Medicaid/EdDoc.pdf Montana Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program was established in 2009. Under this Program, a policy holder in the state of Montana will be able to keep personal assets equal to the amount paid out under their long term care policy and still be considered eligible for Medicaid assistance if they ever needed it. For example, if a qualifying insurance policy pays out $50,000 in benefits to cover a person’s long-term care needs, Medicaid would not count up to $50,000 of the person’s assets when it determines whether the person is eligible for Medicaid assistance with long-term care costs. This means the person would be able to qualify for long-term care assistance through Medicaid without first having to spend all their personal assets on care.

More on Montana

The population of Montana, like many states, is growing older at a rapid rate and the State has instituted a program to tackle the looming crisis of lack of Long Term Care Insurance coverage for its residents.  Beginning in 2009, the State of Montana instituted a Long-Term Care Partnership Program between private industry and the State to encourage residents of Montana to prepare for their future long-term care needs.  Awareness of the need for Long Term Care Insurance remains low in Montana, as in the rest of the country.  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 Partnership program allows persons who purchase a qualifying long-term care insurance policy to be subject to special rules relating to eligibility for Medicaid in Montana.  These rules allow assets equal to the amount of benefits received from a qualifying long-term care insurance policy to be disregarded for the purpose of determining Medicaid eligibility.

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 Montana are able to participate in the Montana Long Term Care Partnership Program via a number of policy options that meet certain State-mandated criteria.  Montana, 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 can reserve an amount of resources equal to the amount of insurance benefits received from the Qualified LTC Partnership policy that can be protected (disregarded) in the resource eligibility determination for institutional/waiver Medicaid coverage.  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 Partnership Program include:

• The insured person must be a resident of a Partnership State when coverage first became effective under the policy
• The policy must meet the IRS definition of a qualified LTC insurance policy (IRS Code of 1986)
• The policy issue date must not be earlier than July 1, 2009, when the Montana Long Term Care Partnership Program began
• The policy meets specific rules of the National Association of Insurance Companies
• The policy must include inflation protection which varies depending on age of the insured at time of purchase:
  • For purchasers under 61 years old, compound annual inflation protection
  • For purchasers 61-76 years old, some leve of inflation protection
  • For purchasers over 76 years old, inflation protection is optional

The Long Term Care inflation requirements are crucial here.  Inflation protection insures that your policy will pay out in tomorrows 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 Montana Long Term Care Partnership Program that is right for you, no matter your age or financial status.  If you would 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.