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Attention residents of Wyoming: the State of Wyoming has developed 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. Wyoming has a rapidly aging population 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 program was developed to encourage people to plan for their future LTC needs, such as residing in a nursing facility or receiving LTC services in a home or community-based setting.”

Wyoming residents should take note of this development and take advantage of this opportunity to prepare for their future long-term care needs. 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 relatives to care for them in retirement should they become unable to care for themselves.

Residents of Wyoming are able to participate in the Wyoming Long Term Care Partnership Program via a number of policy options that meet certain State-mandated criteria. Wyoming, like many states, looks to reward those who do their part in solving this problem of lack of Long Term Care Insurance coverage by planning ahead and protecting themselves and their assets. Basically, it works like this: “A person who requests EqualityCare (Wyoming’s name for the Federal Medicaid program) payment of LTC services after exhausting some or all benefits of a qualified LTCP policy may have certain assets “disregarded” equal to the benefits paid by the qualified LTCP policy at the time the person is determined eligible for EqualityCare. These assets are not counted when the person’s EqualityCare eligibility is determined and will not be recovered during estate recovery when the person dies.” Put simply, you can keep more of what you’ve worked so hard to accumulate through a lifetime of hard work.

Highlights and unique aspects of the Missouri Partnership Program can be found in the “Wyoming Consumer Handout” here.

If you’re a resident of Wyoming and would like to start planning today for your future long-term care needs and securing all that you’ve worked so hard to achieve for your retirement, look into purchasing a Long Term Care Insurance policy.