Goals and Advice

Top 4 LTC “Riders” To Consider

Rider (n) - An add-on you can purchase with your LTC policy for additional premium that enhances your policy.

1. Inflation Protection.  

While technically a rider (extra cost) for most LTC shoppers, some form of guaranteed automatic inflation protection should be considered a must-have rather than an add-on option.  We liken buying LTC without inflation protection to buying a car with no motor.  It may look nice today, but it’s not going anywhere tomorrow.  There are exceptions to every rule, but if under the age of 65, consider Inflation Protection as a must-have.

2. Shared Care.  

Each company has a slightly different take on allowing couples to share their coverage with one another.  The price range for this is about 15-22% additional cost, but often the majority of this can be offset by buying smaller coverage levels.  By combining the risk of a husband and wife, you may potentially need less total coverage.  If married, consider Shared Care or a “third pool” from the companies you are considering.=

3. 1st-day Home Health Care Elimination Period.  

With this option, if you start your care at home, your LTC benefits start immediately.  This is a nice option to consider in lieu of a more standard 90-day waiting period, because Medicare does not typically pay for any care at home, but will cover rehabilitation services in a facility after a hospitalization. (The rules for this are complex)  For about 8-11% more, you can be assured that benefit payments will cover care from the very beginning, rather than waiting 90 days.

4. Monthly Benefits.  

This option is included automatically with some plans (like Mutual of Omaha’s SecureSolutions plans) but extra add-on with most companies, cost around 4-8% in additional premium.  The bottom line is that this only matters if you receive in-home care (which most claims filed are for in-home care) and you have varying daily costs.  You’ll potentially have fewer out of pocket expenses with a Monthly benefit policy.  On the other hand, a daily benefit is often less costly, should cover most if not all of your in-home expenses, and yields a slightly larger total pool of money in most cases.