LTC Elimination Periods

Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers the costs of long-term care services for individuals who have difficulty with activities of daily living (ADLs) due to a chronic illness or disability. The elimination period is the period of time that must pass before the policy begins to pay benefits. It is similar to a deductible in other types of insurance policies.

Here are some key features of an LTC elimination period:

• The elimination period for an LTC policy can range from a few days to several months, depending on the policy.

• During the elimination period, the policyholder is responsible for paying for their own long-term care services.

• Once the elimination period has been satisfied, the policy will begin to pay benefits for eligible services, up to the daily or monthly benefit amount specified in the policy.

• The length of the elimination period affects the cost of the policy; policies with shorter elimination periods are generally more expensive than those with longer elimination periods.

• Some policies may offer a zero-day elimination period for certain types of care, such as hospice care or home health care.

For example, if an LTC policy has a 90-day elimination period and the policyholder requires long-term care services, they would need to pay for their own care for the first 90 days. After the elimination period has been satisfied, the policy would begin to pay benefits for eligible services, up to the daily or monthly benefit amount specified in the policy.

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