From its beginning, Medicaid has required clients to be impoverished to qualify for benefits. Forms of Policies LTC insurance typically pays the cost of nursing care in nursing homes, private homes or assisted-living facilities. Most LTC insurance policies are reimbursement contracts. They pay a benefit up to an agreed daily amount for actual expenses on an approved claim. The other category of LTC is the per diem contract, which pays a specific amount each day, regardless of actual incurred expenses.
Most carriers provide only one type of contract.
The majority of employers offering LTC insurance have voluntary plans in which the employer pays either a portion or none of the employees premiums. This method of obtaining individual policies on a group basis is becoming increasingly popular with employers as a way to enhance their benefit programs while reining in costs. In a true voluntary plan, the employer will select a company as the sponsored provider, and individual employees will be responsible for their own premiums. One advantage of this arrangement is that the employer can use its size to offer discounted premiums to employees, while limiting the employer s cost of providing the benefit to administrative expenses. With employer-sponsored LTC coverage, the employer has little control over the insurance company after the employee makes the decision to purchase the insurance and a policy has been issued.