Paying For Long-Term Care

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Personal Resources
You may choose to use your own resources to pay for long-term care. Some options may include using your personal income, savings, investments or selling your assets. You should carefully assess your ability to rely on your own resources, because long-term care can be expensive.

Relying On Family
If you do not plan ahead for long-term care, you may have to rely on family members to pay for, or provide care.

Medicare
Medicare coverage is limited and generally is not a good option for paying for long-term care. Medicare covers only the first 100 days of care in a nursing home — if you are receiving skilled care and enter the nursing home within 30 days following a hospital stay of at least 3 days. Some deductibles and co-payments apply.

The USAA Educational Foundation publication, Making Medicare Choices (#582), offers more information.

Medicaid
Medicaid is a joint federal/state public assistance program that pays for health care for individuals with low income and limited resources. Unlike Medicare and other federal programs, Medicaid does pay for custodial nursing home care. Each state sets its own standards for Medicaid eligibility, determines the types of service provided and administers the program under broad federal guidelines. These rules are complex and vary from state to state. Check with your state Medicaid office to learn about the rules in your state.

Veterans Administration Benefits
Many larger Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals offer extensive long-term care services, while services at smaller facilities may be limited. Eligibility for VA services depends on several factors, including total family income, length of service, and whether or not the veteran has a service-connected disability. All veterans, however, are eligible for an initial physical examination and screening. Contact the nearest VA hospital to determine eligibility since not all veterans are eligible for VA benefits.

Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program
The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) is the largest employer-sponsored long-term care insurance program in the country.

The FLTCIP offers group long-term care insurance to the "Federal Family" which includes federal and postal employees and annuitants, members of the uniformed services, their qualified relatives and a few other eligible groups. For more information on eligibility, visit the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Web site at www.opm.gov/insure/ltc.

The FLTCIP is not subsidized. Those eligible will still be responsible for premium payments. It is important to evaluate policy benefits and features before choosing between the FLTCIP and an individual policy. A decision should be based on your personal preferences. Visit www.opm.gov/insure/ltc for details.

Your Health Insurance
Most health insurance coverage, whether through your employer, TRICARE or an individual plan, does not cover long-term care services. Long-term care is about caring for you when you are not likely to get better.