An elimination period, or waiting period, is the amount of time that you must cover yourself when entering a nursing home, assisted living facility, using home healthcare, etc.  Elimination periods are usually offered in the following options:

  • 0 days
  • 30 days
  • 90 days
  • 180 days
  • 365 days

Generally, a 90-day elimination period is the “standard” period that most long term care insurance shoppers purchase because of the cost savings.  Often, the difference in cost between a 30-day and 90-day period may be substantial, but the difference between a 90-day and 180 or 365-day may be minimal.

A benefit which can help satisfy the elimination period is the “waiver of home healthcare” benefit, or “waiver of HHC elimination period.”  This waives any waiting period that would normally apply to home healthcare services.  Since most people prefer to use home healthcare services before entering a nursing home, this is a great benefit.  Here’s an example of how it works:

John requires a home healthcare aide to visit his house twice per week.  His benefits for these services kick in immediately instead of having to wait 90 days.  Even though the aide only visits twice per week, the full 7 days each week is counted towards the elimination period for a nursing home.  If John continues having an aide come to the house for services twice per week for 13 weeks, he has then satisfied the full 90-day elimination period (13 weeks times 7 days per week = 91 days) and can enter a nursing home immediately with no additional wait.  Given the high cost of paying for a nursing home out of pocket for 90 days, John saved a lot of money by using the waiver of home healthcare benefit.

Some companies, like Genworth, include the waiver of home healthcare benefit as a standard part of the policy.  Other companies may require it to be added as an optional rider for an extra cost.  Make sure to consider the potential extra cost when making comparisons between the coverage available through different companies.  You should always compare “apples to apples” when reviewing LTC options.

To get a quote and compare long term care insurance policies from the top LTC companies in the industry, please give us a call at 1-888-972-0024 or CLICK HERE to send us an e-mail 24 hours a day.  We can help design a long term care policy to suit your personal needs and budget.  Due to the complex nature of structuring long term care plans, there is currently no way for us to offer instant online quoting.