swsop
Member
When you buy a long-term care (LTC) insurance policy, read the fine
print carefully to see how the "waiting period" or "elimination
period" requirement will be satisfied.
Good policy: You have to satisfy the waiting period only once.
Suppose you choose a policy with a 90-day waiting period. If you
pay for 30 days of care in 2007 and 60 days of care in 2009, the
requirement will be met and further care will be covered.
Flawed policy: Only consecutive days or days within a certain time
period count towards the waiting period. Suppose you have a 90-day
wait, as above. Suppose you need 30 days of care in 2007, but then
care ceases. With some policies, you still have a 90-day waiting
period.
Other policies will count that 30 days towards your 90-day waiting
period but only if the other 60 days occur relatively soon. Either
way, such policies raise obstacles to paying benefits.
swsop
