long term care insurance

When evaluating long-term care insurance policies, you will want to ask your agent several questions. At a minimum, be sure to ask: •        What is covered by the policy? •        What is NOT covered? All long-term care insurance policies cover skilled nursing care in a long-term care facility, commonly known as a nursing home. Some policies also pay for home care (a trained aide to come to the home to help the insured) and/or assisted living (a facility that provides assistance to residents but not medical nursing care). In order for a long-term care policy to pay a benefit, it usually requires that the insured require assistance with at least two activities of daily living (ADLs). ADLs are bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, eating and transferring (moving from bed to chair and vice versa). Some policies include walking as an ADL. Long-term care policies also pay a benefit if the insured has a cognitive impairment that requires significant supervision (i.e., Al