There are many variables that determine the cost of an LTCI policy. Rates are determined by age, health, and the benefit levels you select. The younger and healthier you are, the lower the rates. Discounts are available to those who meet preferred health criteria, and to married persons or those in committed relationships.

As for it being expensive, an LTCI policy can be designed for just about any pocketbook. Working with a professional like those at NewmanLTC helps ensure that you will get the most benefit for your hard-earned dollar. For the assets it helps protect, many people think an LTCI policy is well worth ANY cost.

In our opinion, the best time to buy is right now! Since rates are based on age and health, the younger and healthier you are, the lower your rates. The older you get, and the more your health deteriorates, the more expensive it becomes. Also, if you wait too long to buy, you risk coming down with a condition or injury that would make you uninsurable.

As our founder, Deb Newman says: "I'd rather buy a long-term care policy ten years too earlier, than try to buy it one day too late."

Medical insurance pays for some skilled care, but does not pay for personal or custodial care.

Disability Income (DI) insurance is designed to help replace a portion of a disabled person's income, which is needed to pay for expenses such as mortgages, utilities and food. DI insurance was not designed to pay for LTC services.

That depends entirely on what you want it to do, and how much risk you want to insure against. We recommend consulting an expert, such as those at NewmanLTC, to help you design a policy. Since everyone has unique wants and needs, we don't recommend any "cookie-cutter" policies. What works for someone else might not be best suited to you. At NewmanLTC, we work with you to create a plan suited to your individual needs.

Most traditional LTCI policies will not. However, some policies, especially Cash Benefit plans, may allow for you to pay for informal caregivers, such as family or friends. Exclusions and exceptions vary from policy to policy.

Please remember that one of the main reasons that some people purchase an LTCI policy is so that their friends and family won't be burdened by the physical and financial hardships of providing LTCI to their loved ones.

Most LTCI plans are "guaranteed renewable". This means that premiums cannot be raised solely in response to the number of claims an individual has filed, nor can they be raised solely because of age or change in health.

Companies whose policies are guaranteed renewable may increase premiums on policies on a class-wide basis, usually only with state approval.

We try to pick financially sound companies, with strong policy language and conservative underwriting practices. We believe that this may help protect our clients from future rate increases, but this alone is no guarantee.

Some policies do have either built-in or optional rate guarantees that can keep guarantee the rate for a set amount of time. However, once past that period of time, these policies could be affected by future rate increases.

Another option is to use a Limited Premium Payment Option, where you may pay to age 65, or for a set amount of time (i.e. for 10 years). Once you are done paying premiums, even if rates are raised on the rest of that policy series, the insurer cannot come back and ask you for additional premiums. However, if the company raises rates while you are still paying premiums, even in a Limited Payment period, your rates could be affected as well.

Tax Qualified policies must meet certain standards as set forth in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA ensures that benefits paid from policies that meet its standards are not considered taxable income and that qualified premiums may be deductible as medical expenses if certain thresholds are met. At NewmanLTC, we only represent Tax Qualified policies.

More than 30 states now offer tax incentives, either in the form of a deduction or a tax credit, for people purchasing a LTCI policy.

Check for tax deductions offered by your state by clicking here, then ask your financial advisor or tax professional for more information.