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Floridas Long-term Care Partnership Program

Floridas Long-Term Care Partnership Program is a partnership program between Medicaid and private long-term care insurers designed to encourage individuals to purchase private long-term care insurance.

Qualified policies under the partnership programs are tax qualified under federal law. Tax qualified simply means a portion of premiums paid may be claimed as a tax deduction. Also, policies must offer policyholders inflation protection and dollar-for-dollar asset protection. The dollar-for-dollar asset protection signifies that for every dollar that a partnership policy pays out in benefits, a dollar of assets can be protected from Medicaid spend-down requirements.

All partnership policies also include a disclosure notice containing the asset disregard and explaining the benefits associated with policies that qualify as partnership policies. In addition, the policies must also provide at least one lower level of care. This includes home health care or adult day care.

With regards to Floridas Medicaid long term care services, baby boomers who do not have the financial resources to pay their long-term health care expenses may qualify for Medicaid. This state-funded health program pays almost one half of the nations long-term care bills.

To be able to qualify for the states Medicaid LTC services, the individuals monthly income must be less than the federal poverty level and the assets cannot exceed certain limits. The program will cover nursing home services when (a) the Department of Children and Families has determined you are eligible for Florida Medicaid long-term care services, (b) the nursing home is a Florida Medicaid approved facility; and provides the level of care you need.

In cases when the policyholder moves out from Florida, the person would not be eligible for Florida Medicaid coverage anymore unless he returns to Florida as a resident and meet all other eligibility requirements.

In the US, each state establishes a unique Medicaid program. Medicaid services that are available and Medicaid eligibility requirements will vary from state to state and from year to year, based on state legislative mandates and funding. Though the person is eligible for Medicaid benefits, he will need to apply for Medicaid long-term care services in the state where he resides at the time he need LTC services.

Further developments on Floridas program for long term care are now being implemented pertaining to Medicaid in November, 2007. The notion is to create a compact between the individual and the state wherein an incentive will exist to encourage the individual to purchase long-term care insurance when appropriate.

This simply means when the individual purchases a long-term care insurance policy that qualifies as a Partnership plan, then the insured will be able to qualify for Medicaid benefits without having to meet Medicaid asset spend down requirements to the extent of the benefit purchased if those benefits are exhausted.

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