
Long term care typically alludes to the medical and personal care given to elderly individuals who are disable or are diagnosed with debilitating illnesses that render them incapable of taking care of their bodily needs and unable to function properly in their daily living.
Long term care is provided by several institutions in Tennessee, including nursing homes, community based services, and home services. A combination of home and community based services is also available. In Tennessee, as in most state in the US, any elderly individual wishing to be placed in nursing home facilities should undergo Pre-Admission Evaluations administered by the TennCare Division of Long Term Care.
There are numerous long term care insurance products offered in Tennessee, designed to meet the varying needs of elderly people in the state. Consumers must understand that long term care insurance policies are not designed to pay for the medical expenses that would incur during the enrollment of a particular policyholder in a care facility. The policyholder would need to acquire other means for this particular need. Long term care insurance policies typically provide coverage for services that would help policyholders get through their day to day living, such as assistance in bathing, eating, dressing, and even going to the toilet.
Long term care insurance is considered quite a sound investment, considering that it pays for services that might be needed for as long as the policyholder is alive. However, it can also with a high price. To this end, it would help if potential policyholder should make careful considerations and solicit the opinion of the entire family before embarking on this particular transaction.
The state also offers the Long Term Care Partnership Program that is participated by the federal Medicaid program and all insurance providers offering long term care insurance products. This program is offered for qualified individuals who have exhausted their long term care policy benefits. To this end, the TennCare program is considered the last resort for those who might stand to lose their long term care benefits. The program also provides inflation protection for the policyholder, depending on the age of the policyholder and on the date when the policy was purchased. Though inflation protection increases the rates of the premium, this feature is especially beneficial as its offset the rising cost of long term care in the state.
Most long term care insurance policies offered in the state shares general features that consumers should be aware of. Most have a 90-day elimination period before coverage is enjoyed. Policyholders must also be proven to be unable to perform at least two activities of living. All long term care insurance policies are also guaranteed to be renewable, so long as the policyholder makes prompt payments.