UT Average daily benefit purchased: $ 143 per day.

Long term care provides support and services when you can’t care for yourself for an extended period of time. It ranges from simple assistance with activities of daily living (for example, getting dressed, bathing) in your own home, to highly skilled care in a nursing facility. Long-term care insurance is designed to pay some or all of the costs of assisted care when you can no longer take care of your needs on your own. Policy options may include care in a nursing home, assisted living facility, adult day care, or even in your own home.

There are more than 2.7 million people who call Utah their home. According to the US Census, 250,000 of those residents are aged 65 or older. That’s close to a quarter of a million residents and counting in the Beehive State who will increasingly need and use Long Term Care. Without Long Term Care Insurance, this rising number of seniors will put increasing economic stress on families and the state. In 2011, the total Long Term Care Medicaid expenses alone (not counting additional, private Long Term Care expenses) in Utah were over $430 million.

When planning for retirement, Long Term Care Insurance is a key component for securing one’s financial future. Thankfully, residents of Utah have the choice of around 17 great Long Term Care Insurance companies that can help protect their savings in the event they need Long Term Care services.

More on Utah

As the population of Utah ages, the need for long-term care for its residents will rise, as well as the cost. The State of Utah has instituted a program to tackle the problem of the lack of Long Term Care Insurance coverage for its residents. They have set up a “partnership” program between private industry and the State to encourage residents of Utah to prepare for their future long-term care needs. Awareness of the need for Long Term Care Insurance remains low in Utah, as in the rest of the country.

Long Term Care Insurance covers the cost of services such as nursing homes, in-home care, and assisted-living care when one is unable to care for themselves and is not covered by regular health insurance and only by Medicaid if one qualifies, which can be difficult without exhausting all of your assets.

The Utah Long-Term Care Partnership was created after the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 to encourage residents to purchase private, Long Term Care Insurance policies to protect themselves and their assets when they need long-term care later in life. According to a recent study, 7 in 10 Americans have made no plans for long-term care and many were not even aware of this type of insurance and what it covers. And, given that the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 2/3 of all Americans will need long-term care at some point after they pass age 65, this does, indeed, constitute a problem to be reckoned with. Many Americans, regardless of the State in which they live, are now at risk of having to exhaust their nest egg or rely on their children or other relatives to care for them in retirement should they become unable to care for themselves. Utah has opened up a viable way for residents of the State to prepare for their own long-term care needs.

Via the Utah Long-Term Care Partnership, residents of Utah are able to purchase Long Term Care Insurance with a number of policy options that meet certain State-mandated criteria. Utah, like many states, hopes to reward those who do their part in solving this problem of Long Term Care Insurance coverage by planning ahead and protecting themselves and their assets. Basically, it works like this: the amount of coverage you purchase in a Long Term Care Insurance policy can be excluded from the federal Medicaid eligibility requirements, thus shielding your assets from being exhausted in order to receive Medicaid benefits.

Highlights and requirements of the Partnership Program include:

• Minimum daily benefit
• Inflation protection
• Benefit coverage period

The inflation protection provisions above are critical and are an integral part of any good Long Term Care Insurance policy. They insure that your protected in the future and that you are paid in “tomorrow’s dollars” and not at today’s rates which is impotent as the cost of long-term care services is set to rise substantially in the coming decades.

Are you a resident of Utah that is concerned about how you’ll finance your future long-term care needs? Well, you you can start planning today for your future long-term care needs and securing all that you’ve worked so hard to achieve for your retirement by purchasing a Long Term Care Insurance policy. LTC Tree can assist you in finding a plan through the Utah Long Term Care Partnership Program that is right for you, no matter your age or financial status. If you’d like to learn more about our affordable Long Term Care Insurance policies, simply fill out this form.