Long Term Care Insurance in Kansas: Before and After the Purchase

Long term care is a need for older people who have undergone disability or prolonged illness, rendering them incapable of taking care of themselves on a day to day basis. Among the institutions who offer this kind of service include adult day care and nursing homes. There are also some individuals who render home health care services.

The cost of getting long term care services in Kansas vary considerably, depending on the exact services provided. Enrollment in a nursing home facility offering skilled services would cost considerably more than availing of home health care services. Kansas citizens actually have four options on how to pay for long term care: out of their personal financial resources, through Medicare, Medicaid, and of course, long term care insurance.

There are several considerations to be made before an individual can decide to purchase long term care insurance. First would be the financial capability to pay for the premiums. Know that the payment period for this kind of insurance is quite long term and would significantly impact your financial resources. A person relying on a small income may not be able to keep up with the premiums and stand the chance of seeing their money wasted away should the policy be cancelled for nonpayment later on. Having a family also impacts an individual’s decision to purchase this kind of insurance. Those who expects to remain single all their lives would need to consider getting long term care insurance, as there is no assurance anyone beyond the immediate family will take the responsibility of caring. In Kansas, women have the higher tendency to need long term care on the account of their longer life expectancy and tendency to outlive their spouses. If a person is diagnosed with a long-term illness, he or she may also require long term care in their old age.

There are also tax-qualified long-term care plans available that consumers can also avail of. The advantage of this kind of insurance policy is that deduction of some percentage of premiums as medical expenses when the policyholder files an income tax return. Furthermore, the benefits of this policy would be considered taxable, so policyholder can enjoy them to the fullest. However, this kind of policy also needs certification that the policyholder is chronically ill, which translates to inability to perform several activities of daily living.

There is also a Long Term Care Partnership program instituted by the state of Kansas and private insurers. This program is designed to address the long term care need of individuals who managed to consume their insurance benefits. With this program, they can apply for Medicaid provided that they fulfill all the needed criteria. The state has also instituted some steps to protect consumers should their insurance providers file for bankruptcy. The Kansas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association will provide maximum claims payable benefits to policyholders even if the providers become insolvent. However, consumers need to make sure their providers are licensed to sell insurance products in the state in order for them to qualify for this fund.

Should a policyholder of long term care insurance have any question or complaints, he or she can approach any of the authorized agencies within the state for clarifications and help. These agencies include the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas, Kansas Department on Aging, the local Medicare office, the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, and of course, the Kansas Insurance Department. Long term care insurance policyholders should also know that before admission to a particular nursing facility, a Client Assessment, Referral and Evaluation procedure must be instigated to determine which type of services is actually needed. Recommendations on which facility to enroll the policyholder to would also be made.

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