There are different ways to buy a Long Term Care Insurance Policies. You can buy it as an individual, as a member of a group or faith-based organization or as an employee or a family member of a person who is a public employee or in the military service.

As an individual you will have to meet all the current Long Term Care Insurance requirements of the state you live and buy your insurance. But if you buy this insurance as a member of a group or a nationwide organization you may not be required to meet the same requirements. Before you buy, find out the details and advantages of buying this kind of policy in your state as a member of a group.

LTC coverage can be available to some through the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) due to their own or family member’s public/federal employment or military service. The FLTCIP is employer based system and does not pay any part of the LTC premium but it has it’s own LTC insurance program. AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and some private employers and faith based organizations also sponsor their own private LTC insurance.

Most LTC insurance policy purchased in one state will pay benefits in any state. Places where care is provided is different from state to state and how these places are defined can also be different. Often when the time comes to receive the benefits, the care providing places in one state maybe different than in the state where the policy was purchased. If there is a difference regarding how these care giving places are defined between two states, the laws of the state where the policy was purchased will apply.

According to where benefits are paid Long Term Care Insurance Policies can be divided into 3 broad categories - Home Care Only, Nursing Home and Residential Care Facility Only and Comprehensive.

Home Care Only
As the name suggests Home Care Only policies cover care in your own home or a community setting. This type of Long Term Care Insurance Policy does not cover care in Assisted Living Facilities or Nursing Homes. This kind of policy must include benefits for home health, adult day health care, hospice, respite care, personal care and homemaker services.

Nursing Home and Residential Care Facility Only
This kind of policy covers care in a nursing home or any place that provides assisted living care as long as this place is licensed as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE). The benefits of this kind of policy is not the payment for room and board in these facilities. The policy benefits include coverage of all long term care services you receive in either of these facilities upto the policy’s maximum daily benefit amount.

Some of the RCFE include small neighborhood homes also called board and care facilities, retirement homes and specialized community facilities for patients with cognitive impairment (dementia) from Alzheimer. In this kind of policy, the assisted living benefits must equal to at least 70% of the nursing home care benefit.

Comprehensive
The Comprehensive Long Term Care Insurance Policies cover costs rising out of care in a nursing home, assisted living facility, home care and community care (adult day care). Certain requirements mentioned in the policy must be met before the LTC insurance benefits can be paid with this kind of insurance. LTC Comprehensive policies sold by different companies require different criteria to be met. When you are unable to perform two activities of daily living (such as bathing, using the bathroom, dressing eating etc.) or you have a cognitive condition that requires supervision, Comprehensive Long Term Care Insurance Policiy will pay you the benefits. Whether care is provided in a nursing home, at your own home or in an assisted living facility the criteria required for the benefits remains as described above.

Long Term Care is help that is needed to carry out daily activities like eating, bathing, dressing, using the bathroom etc. when you have a physical disability or cognitive impairment. This kind of non-skilled care is not intended to cure you and is not received in a hospital. Long Term Care Insurance pays for costs rising out of long term care services received in your own home, at a nursing home, adult day care or other assisted living facilities. Traditional health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid do not cover costs rising out of such services.

Medicare is the Federal Health Insurance program which aims to provide health services for people 65 or older. It also covers those who have disabilities under the age of 65, suffering from ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, or those dealing with permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant. Medicare pays only for short term skilled care such as specialized inpatient hospital stays for a limited time only. Some out patient services such as doctor visits, prescription drugs, diagnostic tests and preventive care are covered by Medicare.

Medicaid is a state based program supplemented by Federal Funds which aims to provide health services to the poor and impoverished according to your state’s guidelines. Medi-Cal is the Medicaid Program in California. Only if you meet your state’s poverty criteria are you eligible for Medicaid. In other words you need to expend all but $2000 of your assets. Medicaid is a welfare program.

Medigap also called Medicare Supplement Insurance is private supplemental health insurance policy. It covers some of the costs that Medicare does not cover. It helps pay coinsurance, co-payments or deductibles of costs of services covered by Medicare. There are only 12 standardized Medigap Policies which have the same benefits regardless of which private company sells it to you.

Long Term Care Insurance is discussed in length both in the health care and financial circles. Children born between 1946 and 1964 are known as Baby Boomers. When the last of the baby boomers reach 65 by 2030, 40% of them will live to celeberate their 90th birthday. With increased life expectancy, the chances of needing long term care also increases over the age of 65. At some point in life 70% of people past the age of 65 will need some kind of long term care services.

Most senior citizens live on fixed incomes. They are barely able to keep up with the rising cost of living, mortgages and taxes let alone meet the high and ever increasing Long Term Care Costs . Majority of the seniors desire to spend their last years with dignity and independence in the comfort of their own home.

Many senior citizens have serious medical problems forcing them to rely on family for their daily living activities. Children are unable to care of their elderly parents because they have moved away due to their work or have young children of their own to take care of.

An injury or an accident can happen to anyone at anytime forcing them to seek long term care. Medicare and Medicaid do not cover long term care expenses. People buy long term care insurance to pay for the high long term care costs.

Long Term Care Insurance has a special significance to baby boomers. About 76 million children born between 1946 and 1964 are referred to as the Baby Boom generation. This generation represents roughly 28% of the population. By 2030 this generation reaches retirement and the senior citizens population will be nearly twice what it is today. The population of 85 and above will be more than 300% by 2050 according to demographic studies.

Even with wide spread attention to long term care insurance a majority of this generation has not purchased long term care insurance . 30% of this generation falsely believes that they have long term care insurance coverage. This year, 2010, the oldest boomers will turn 65 and the youngest in 2030. The youngest boomers will turn 85 around 2050 when the need for long term care services is felt the most.

Medical advances results in increased life expectancy which leads to increased dependency on long term care services. Home based informal long term care services is disappearing due to smaller family size, job related mobility, increased divorced rates and people choosing to remain single.

Baby boomers must make long term care insurance a key factor in their retirement planning. Recognizing the possiblity of needing long term care services and buying early a long term care insurance policy is integral to retirement planning. With long term care insurance baby boomers can rest assured that they will not become a burden to their family or the sate. Long term care insurance not only protects savings but gives this generation the freedom to choose the kind of long term care services they want and where they will receive it.