More LTC Options for Texans from the Partnership Program

Texas remains with a big population of uninsured individuals. Many Texans are hesitant to buy a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy for fear that they might not be able to maintain their annual premiums. Truth is, securing a Texas long term care partnership plan will guarantee premium savings and asset protection. LTCI is always associated with one’s health care needs but people have to understand that it has more to do with their finances. Long term care (LTC) is not easy on the pocket. For those who have no idea how much a year’s stay in a nursing home would cost, it is more than your annual income. According to the 2011 Cost of Care Survey of Genworth Financial, the median annual rate of a nursing home in Texas is $60,225. This is small compared to the annual nursing home costs of other states such as New York, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Alaska. Still, if you are going to pay this much using your personal resources you won’t last a year. In-home care in Texas may cost less than nursing homes but this should not call for a celebration because 18 years down the road, when the cost of care shoots up four times that of the national average, even in-home care will be unaffordable. Right now, a home health aide in Texas charges $24 per hour and she is responsible for helping a disabled individual or an elderly with his activities of daily living (ADL) such as eating, dressing, bathing, use of toilet, continence, and transferring. Once the cost of care quadruples in 2030, will you be able to afford $96 an hour? Financial advisors say there is no possibility for the cost of care to go down anytime soon. As long as the aging population continues to grow the rates of every single LTC facility in the country will continue to increase. Texas Long Term Care Partnership Policies Texas created its Partnership Program to encourage residents to plan their LTC because if they wind up needing serious care someday, the government cannot possibly shoulder all of their expenses in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at home. The Partnership Program of Texas offers a special feature called Medicaid Asset Protection. This simply means that once you have exhausted your policy benefits, you can apply for Medicaid assistance without spending down all of your assets. You can exempt a certain amount that is equivalent to the amount of benefits which your policy has paid out to you. Buying a Partnership qualified LTCI policy is more reasonable thank investing in a policy with lifetime coverage because in case you don’t get to live long enough to use your benefits, your family won’t be able to benefit from it. Partnership LTCI plans allow people to choose a short benefit period and save on their annual premiums. Afterwards, once they have exhausted their benefits and would require ongoing care they can simply apply for Medicaid assistance without depleting their assets. Aside from offering affordable coverage, Texas long term care Partnership policies also considerately give people the freedom to plan for their loved ones’ future.