Long-term care is assistance with routine activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing and dressing, for an extended period of time. The need for long-term care can occur at any time and at any age due to an unexpected accident or serious illness.
Why should UUP bargaining unit members consider buying long-term care insurance when they already have medical or disability insurance? These types of insurance typically do not cover the cost of long-term care services. A member’s finances could be quickly depleted without specific insurance to help cover these costs.
Medical insurance covers traditional medical services, such as hospital care, doctor visits and medications. Disability insurance is designed solely to replace a portion of lost wages for those unable to work.
Medicare provides only limited coverage for long-term care services, and members may have to be a certain age to qualify. Medicaid generally won’t provide assistance for long-term care until most of a person’s assets and income have been used to pay for the cost of care.
Members considering a long-term care policy are encouraged to examine the MetLife Long-Term Care Insurance Plan endorsed by NYSUT Member Benefits Trust. Members can customize this plan with choices, including daily benefit amount and benefit duration. The plan also includes a variety of value-added features, such as a transition benefit and inflation protection options.
The New York State Partnership Plan for long-term care is another option for New York state residents.
With long-term care, the younger a person is when they apply, the lower the premium that is locked in. By delaying application, premiums may be higher and chances are greater that a medical condition will develop that could preclude coverage.
In addition to members, spouses or domestic partners, parents (and in-laws) and grandparents (and in-laws) are eligible to apply. For more information, call the long-term care insurance experts at MetLife at (800) 638-0133.
(For information about this program or about contractual expense reimbursement/endorsement arrangements with providers of endorsed programs, please call NYSUT Member Benefits Trust at 800-626-8101, e-mail benefits@nysutmail.org, visit www.memberbenefits.nysut.org, or refer to your NYSUT Member Benefits Trust Summary Plan Description. Agency fee payers to NYSUT are eligible to participate in NYSUT Member Benefits Trust-endorsed programs.)