Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-Term Care is often required when a person suffers from a prolonged illness, a disability or
cognitive impairment and may encompass medical, personal and social services. Long-Term
Care insurance is a product offered by private insurance companies that may be purchased to
provide coverage for home health care needs, adult day-care, nursing home confinement or
continuing care retirement communities. The range of services offered is not covered by
traditional health insurance, Medicare or Medicare supplement insurance policies, and the
benefit package may vary significantly among insurance companies.
Long-Term Care Partnership Program
In 2006, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed legislation to implement a Long-Term Care
Partnership Program (“Partnership Program”) - a public-private relationship where individuals
are encouraged to purchase a private long-term care “partnership” policy.
Once private insurance benefits are exhausted for individuals with a Partnership Program policy,
special Medicaid rules are applied if additional coverage is necessary. Without a Partnership
Program policy, individuals would normally have to “spend down” their assets – essentially,
impoverish themselves- before becoming eligible for Medicaid benefits. Partnership policies
provide an alternative to spending down by allowing total countable assets for determining
Medicaid long-term care eligibility to be reduced on a $1 for each $1 paid in insurance benefits.
In other words, the individual gets to retain assets equal to the benefits paid under the policy.
Partnership Program policies are tax qualified plans under federal law and provide inflation
protection benefits for insureds.
The following companies offer Long-Term Care Partnership Policies in Florida*:
- Bankers Life Insurance Company
- Genworth
- John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)
- LifeSecure Insurance Company
- MedAmerica Insurance Company of Florida
- MetLife (LTC)
- Mutual of Omaha
- New York Life (LTC Division)
- Northwestern Mutual
- Prudential
- Transamerica Life Insurance Company
- United of Omaha
*Updated on April 26, 2010
For more information on the Long-Term Care Partnership Program visit:
http://ahca.myflorida.com/Medicaid/ltc_partnership_program/index.shtml