For many senior citizens, residential care is, or will be, a critical component of their ongoing care as they age. Either for safety reasons, or to assist with certain daily activities that may not be manageable otherwise, residential care is essential to their day to day well being, as well as to their physical and mental health. As a result, it becomes imperative to find health insurance that will cover residential care services in order to provide loved ones with the quality of care they need and want. While these services may not be included in every policy, there are many policies that will include some form of residential or in-home care services. The challenge is in finding the insurance programs that will.
Many residential care services, as well as other in home care and long term care services, are covered by supplementary insurance policies. These policies are otherwise known as “gap” policies, because they help to close the gap between what basic insurance covers and what the individual will generally require. Some of these policies include Medicare Part A, Medicare supplemental insurance policies and Medicaid policies (for lower income brackets).
That is not to say that not all HMO’s exclude residential care entirely. Some may approve residential care services after a brief hospital stay, while others may not require a hospital stay at all. Also, different plans may have different requirements regarding the details of the program, including which facilities are registered and accepted, how many hours of service are covered, and other relevant factors that senior citizens need to consider. Of course, the details of any insurance policy should be reviewed thoroughly before any purchase, but many of these insurance policies have some form of residential care, or in- home care, coverage.
