It is very important for all residents of Illinois to evaluate their needs for an Illinois long term care insurance policy. All adult residents of Illinois, both young and old, should seriously research this important type of insurance coverage if they do not want to have to unduly burden their loved ones in the event of a debilitating disease, go into bankruptcy due to medical bills, or worse. Finding long term care insurance is a serious issue but there are certainly some things that all IL residents can do to find a cheap Illinois long term care insurance policy.
The state of Illinois is one of the biggest states in the continental United States. Holding an estimated 12,831,970 people and with about 12 percent of that population over the age of 65 years old; Illinois is a state big on Long Term Care Insurance. With the expenses of health care rising in America, is more and more common for people to purchase this kind of health care that can protect them in the future if any medical expenses arise.
The concept of Long Term Care Insurance is still not being used that much in the United States because people don't know about it, or they simply just don't understand it. People that already have health insurance and are elected to receive Medicaid after they turn 65 usually don't worry about anything, thinking that their whole health care life is covered. It is here where Long Term Insurance comes into effect, when the type of care a person is receiving is not covered by their Health Insurance Company, Medicaid or Medicare.
Long Term Care Insurance can be used by anyone at any particular time. Some examples of people that might need it would be a disables person that will need assistance for life doing the daily living activities that a healthy person can do by themselves. Also, a person recuperating from any accident can be covered for the amount of time necessary until they are completely healed. It is important to mention however, that age is not related to more cases of long term care required. In the United States it is estimated that about 40 percent of Long Term Care Insurance patients are people between the ages of 18 and 64.
The state of Illinois takes Long Term Care Insurance for people over the age of 65 very seriously. Online you can find information about one of the most important resources about Long Term Care Insurance, the Illinois Department on Aging website. This website promotes the famous Long Term Care Ombudsman Program regulated by the Federal Older Americans Act and the Illinois Act on Aging. This program provides the fair and equal treatment of every Illinois resident over the age of 65, living in any Long Term Care facility (nursing home). The state government through this program will inform nursing home residents and their families of their rights, resolve nursing home complaints promptly, provide information for the resident needs and advocate for excellent nursing home and individual care.
Every resident of the state of Illinois residing in a nursing home, or a family member of a person residing in a nursing home is eligible to apply. A main benefit for people that have Long Term Care Insurance is that it will cover for a caregiver, a house companion and for people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or any other type of dementia.
A thing of note is that many young people think that Alzheimer's and Parkinson's only affect the old population; this however is not completely true. An example that shows Parkinson's can happen at any age is that of Michael J Fox, who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 30.
The cost of Illinois Long Term Care Insurance can be very high or very low depending on the services you want and the amount of time you will need care. Costs in a nursing home can range from $50,000 a year and sometimes it can easily be twice as that. When the time comes for a person to use the services he/she purchased they will be in charge of paying the bills, but they will be reimbursed by Medicare and by their Long Term Care Insurance Company. There are two main types of Long Term Care Insurance available in Illinois:
NTQ: This acronym stands for Not-Tax Qualified Long Term Insurance which has been sold for over 30 years. This type of Long Term Care Insurance generally has a "medical trigger" which says that the patient's doctor or a doctor in conjunction with the insurance company will state that the patient needs long term medical care. The benefits under this type are taxable.
TQ: This stands for Tax Qualified Long Term Insurance. Unlike the Non-tax Qualified the Tax Qualified type does not need a medical trigger and it required a person to have at least 90 days of care and to not be able to perform two of the daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, etc; in order for a person to receive a Plan of Care from their doctor.
The state of Illinois also has a program called the Illinois Council on Long Term Care. The council's main job is basically to give Illinois' residents that want information on Long Term Rehabilitation Centers or Nursing Homes near their area. Although Medicare pays for a portion of the costs of Rehabilitation Centers and Nursing Homes, the Long Term Care Insurance can help pay for the rest of the bill that is not covered by Medicare.
Illinois Long Term Care Health Insurance is a necessity for many IL residents simply because an accident can happen anywhere at anytime. The important thing to know is that there are many companies in Illinois that are willing to insure you and that the state is really serious about Long Term Care costs. Compare Illinois long term care insurance quotes online to comparison shop for the protection that you need. Get started finding long term care insurance now!
