SC Average daily benefit purchased: $ 143 per day.

There are close to 4.8 million people who call South Carolina home, and according to the US Census, over 650,000 of those residents are 65 or older. That’s over half a million people and counting in the Palmetto 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. In 2011, the total Long Term Care Medicad expenses alone in South Carolina were almost $1.3 billion.

The good news is, residents of South Carolina 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.

In 2009, the South Carolina Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program became effective. This program is designed to encourage South Carolinians 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 South Carolina with asset protection in the event they use their policy benefits and need to seek continued benefits through Medicaid. Partnership Policies are very similar to traditional long-term care insurance policies, except they must include annual compound inflation protection for individuals under age 61 and some form of inflation protection for individuals ages 61-76. Inflation protection helps the policy keep up with the rising costs of long-term care services.

More on South Carolina

The state of South Carolina, like many states across the country, has developed aunique and viable solution to tackling the long-term care “crunch” facing its citizens in the coming decades. This “crunch” in long-term care is a national phenomenon that is exacerbated as the population ages. Awareness of the need for Long Term Care Insurance remains low nationwide and thus many are left vulnerable. Long Term Care Insurance is insurance that pays for services such as nursing homes, in-home care and assisted-living care when one is unable to care for themselves.

South Carolina Example Long Term Care Costs

These services are not covered by regular health insurance and only by Medicaid if one qualifies, which can be difficult without exhausting all of your assets. The South Caroline Long-term Care Partnership Program “is a joint effort between the federal Medicaid Program and Long Term Care (LTC) insurers. The Long Term Care Partnership was developed to encourage people to plan for their future Long-Term Care (CLTC) needs, such as residing in a nursing facility or receiving CLTC waivered services in a home or community-based setting.” 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. Furthermore, a full 35% think they will never need long-term care assistance and given that the Department of Healthand Human Services estimates that 67% of all Americans will need long-term care at some point after they pass age 65, there is a huge mismatch between reality and perception here. Thus, many Americans 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 due to illnesses such as Alzheimer’s or dementia or any illness that renders them helpless. But, if you are a resident of South Carolina, you should be aware of the South Carolina Long Term Care Partnership Program which offers those who do their part in solving this “crunch” of long-term care a way to protect themselves and their assets. Basically, it works like this: those who purchase a Long Term Care Insurance “Partnership Policy” from one of the insurers certified to sell these policies in South Carolina are eligible for Medicaid Asset protection. This enables participants 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 of the South Carolina Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program:

• Policies must provide a specific amount of inflation protection based on the person’s age when the policy is purchased
• Policies must meet other requirements determined by the Department of Insurance
• A person who requests Medicaid assistance for long-term care services after exhausting some or all benefits of a qualified Partnership policy may have certain assets “disregarded” equal to the benefits paid by the qualified policy at the time the person is determined eligible for Medicaid
• These assets are not counted when the person’s Medicaid eligibility is determined and will not be recovered during estate recovery when the person dies

This means you can keep more of your hard-earned money and protect your nest egg from being depleted by the costs of long-term care services. More information is available on the South Carolina Long Term Care Partnership Program website. Are you a resident of South Carolina and want to start planning today for your future and securing all that you’ve worked so hard to achieve for your retirement? By purchasing a Long Term Care Insurance policy through South Carolina’s Partnership for Long Term Care Insurance program, you can rest easy knowing that you’re covered for your future long-term care needs.