Assuring quality long term care for a loved one is far more complex than simply arranging for care and figuring out how to fund it. There are many legal and financial issues and obstacles that arise. While insurance is a key component to funding long term care, assuring quality care and dealing with the legal and financial issues for someone entering long term care are critical. A comprehensive coverage package that deals with these many facets of long term care can make all the difference in the comfort and care that you and your loved ones receive.
Case study: Long term care issues
Eric has always been close to his aging Aunt Elaine and is her closest family member. When she unexpectedly, suffered a devastating stroke, Eric had to decide what to do about her post-hospital care since she could no longer live alone.
Eric immediately called her long-term care insurance (LTC) provider and spoke with a Benefit Concierge to help him find the best local facilities based on independent ratings. These detailed reports gave him much more insight about where to find quality care than the brief recommendations that he’d received from the hospital—so he could feel confident about the decision he needed to make. While Aunt Elaine’s care arrangement was settled for now, Eric knows he can always contact the care provider and request a thorough Care Audit to make sure her quality of care remains consistent.
With Eric now handling all of Aunt Elaine’s financial obligations, some legal issues emerged. For example, to obtain a 1099 form from Social Security to file Elaine’s taxes, Eric needed a power of attorney form in a neighboring state. Eric again contacted the LTC provider and took advantage of their legal assistance, to easily create the power of attorney and get her 1099.
The cost of Aunt Elaine’s care is about $12,000 a month—which was a real eye-opener for Eric. Fortunately, she had an insurance policy in place to significantly defray those costs.
Through Elaine’s situation, Eric learned that while you can’t control your health, you can control how to manage it. While insurance is a critical piece of the puzzle, dealing with quality care and legal issues help address the broader impact brought on by a serious illness. If Elaine had not purchased a long-term care policy with enhanced benefits, Eric would have been left to figure this out without the necessary resources. The enhanced benefits provided him with the tools he needed to make the right decisions for his family.
Member benefits
The AIA Trust now offers AIA members a new set of benefits to help them to identify and compare long term care insurance policies plus guide them through the process of long term care whether for themselves or a family member. Some of the key program benefits for AIA members include:
- A choice of highly-rated insurance carriers
- Premium Discounts
- Flexible products tailored to your personal financial situation
- Broad underwriting rules allowing coverage to fit your needs and lifestyle
- Advocacy: As an AIA member, when you buy coverage through the AIA Trust program with Long Term Care Resources Plus you will have an advocate for as long as you own the policy.
- Lifetime Services:
– Facility Search: Assisting with finding and evaluating long term care solutions based upon one’s specific needs.
– Legal Assistance: Creating important legal documents needed when aging.
– LTC Care Audit: Offering third-party review of care provided to a loved one to assess a current care situation.
LTCRplus offers new services to help AIA members navigate your long-term care needs and deal with the complex emotional and financial challenges of long-term care, centralizing solutions and services to assist you in your planning.
Call (844) 582 7587 or learn more about AIA Trust’s long term care program.