One reason we love long-term care insurance (LTCi) is that you can use it for home care.
Comprehensive LTCi policies allow you to receive care wherever you call home and are receiving care. It allows you to stay in control of your care options. The key is you have to “trigger your policy” and you do that when you need help with two out of the six activities of daily living, or you need substantial supervision due to a cognitive impairment, and your expected need of care is more than 90 days.
Most people on claim and people in general are receiving care in their home, where they’re most comfortable, and not in a facility. An insurance policy can help you stay at home longer because you have extra income (benefits) coming in to help pay for care, plus it will allow your informal caregivers to take a break and be able to pay professional caregivers.
Sometimes it does make sense to be in a facility, for instance, if you need round the clock 24/7 care, it can become cost prohibitive and difficult to receive care in your home all day long for potentially years. Or it could be that the care receiver wants and needs socialization with other people. Or a facility (like an assisted living facility) may be safer and a better option for the care recipient. However, most people are receiving care in their homes and want to do so.
Many people start out at home only needing maybe a few hours of care a few days a week, and then it progresses over time when more care is needed. As the care receiver progresses along the continuum of care, partnering with a professional facility locator may be a good idea.
The Bottom Line
Most long-term care insurance policies provide flexibility and allow you to receive care in your home or wherever you call home.