What is a Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Qualified Policy? How is New York's Unique?

Q: Some insurance companies offer PartnershipNJ Medicaid.
Qualified long term care insurance policies. Can youThe New York State Partnership for Long Term Care
explain what that means, what advantages it mayOnly two states in the entire U.S. can offer both Dollar
provide and if the New York State Partnership forfor Dollar and Total Asset Partnership Programs -
Long Term Care is unique?Indiana and New York. As its name implies, Total
The Problem - Limited Benefits and Limited MedicaidAsset offers unlimited asset protection from Medicaid
Most long term care (LTC) insurance policies provide a- far more powerful than Dollar for Dollar.
limited amount of benefits. Even lifetime benefit policiesLet's say you are a New York resident who
generally have a daily, monthly or annual limit. The costpurchases a New York State Partnership for Long
of long term care after a policy has been exhaustedTerm Care Qualified policy. After you exhaust your
can be financially devastating for you and your family.policy, you can apply for New York State Medicaid
To compound the problem, assistance in the form ofExtended Coverage - which allows you to protect
Medicaid is generally limited to the impoverished.some or all of your assets, depending on whether you
The Solution - Partnership Qualified Long Term Careselect a Dollar for Dollar Asset Protection plan or a
Insurance PoliciesTotal Asset Protection plan. However, your income is
The Partnership Program is based on the Robertconsidered in determining your eligibility for Medicaid
Wood Johnson Foundation program called theExtended Coverage. The plans are as follows:
Program to Promote Long Term Care Insurance forPlan Name Min Policy Duration Max Policy Duration Min
the Elderly, initiated in 1987. Today, a PartnershipDaily Benefit 2009 Max Elimination
Program is a "partnership" between a state, anTotal Asset 50 3 Yrs Nursing Home (NH) Unlimited
insurance company and state residents who buy longNH=$218, HC=$109 100 Days 3/6/50 or 6 Yrs Home
term care Partnership policies. With a PartnershipCare (HC)*
Qualified policy you can apply for Medicaid with 'assetTotal Asset 100 4 Yrs Nursing Home (NH) Unlimited
disregard'. This allows you to keep assets that wouldNH=$218, HC=$218 100 Days 4/4/100 or 4 Yrs
otherwise be disallowed. In almost all states that haveResidential Facility
Partnership Programs, the amount of assets MedicaidDollar for Dollar 50 1.5 Yrs NH or 3 Yrs HC* 2.5 Yrs
will disregard is equal to the amount of the benefitsNH or 5 Yrs HC NH=$218, HC=$109 60 Days 1.5/3/50
you actually receive under your LTC PartnershipDollar for Dollar 100 2 Yrs NH or 2 Yrs HC 2.5 Yrs NH
Qualified policy. This type of disregard is often referredor 2.5 Yrs HC NH=$218, HC=$218 60 Days 2/2/100
to as Dollar for Dollar.* Home care days are counted on the basis of 2
Let's say you are a New Jersey resident whohome care days equaling 1 nursing home day.
purchases $306,600 (the average rate of a privateAction Step - Purchase a Long Term Care
nursing room for an average three year stay in NJ inPartnership Policy
2008) worth of insurance through a PartnershipWhen you purchase a Partnership Qualified policy, you
Qualified policy. When the care is needed, the policygain the safety of long term care insurance and the
actually pays for $900,000 of care (due to inflationpeace of mind provided by asset protection - total
protection). Under the state's Partnership Program youasset protection in the case of Indiana and New York.
would then have $900,000 of assets protected from