| By :
Wiley Long
Long-term care insurance is focused on help with ordinary daily living. That includes activities such as bathing, preparing meals, taking medication correctly and toileting. The problems that commonly require long-term care include advanced osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia or a loss of hearing, mobility or vision that impedes daily living activities. What Do Long-term Care Policies Cover? Long-term care coverage can help to pay for care at home or in a facility, such as a nursing home. As with Texas health insurance plans, there is a great deal of variation in the type of long-term care plans that are available. The premium range depends on the amount of services you want, your age when you purchase a plan and whether you buy optional benefits, such as inflation protection. What Does Health Insurance In Texas Cover? While Texas health insurance plans vary in the services they cover, long-term care typically is not covered by health insurance plans in Texas, except in very limited ways. Unfortunately, Texas does not require standardized policies in the individual health insurance market, or the plans that people buy when they don't have coverage through an employer or the government. That makes it very important for you to compare plans carefully from different Texas health insurance companies when you are shopping for your own health care coverage. All Texas health insurance companies are required to offer at least one plan that covers state-mandated benefits, such as childhood immunizations and mammograms. Texas individual health insurance and Texas family health insurance companies can also sell less-expensive plans that don't include every mandated benefit, such as diabetes equipment and supplies or treatment for a chemical dependency. Typically, these plans don't cover assistance with daily living activities. What Does Medicare Cover? Even Medicare for those 65 and older, whom you would expect to need long-term care more frequently than any other age group, covers very few long-term care expenses. Medicare Part A deals with home health care, hospice, hospital and skilled nursing care. Before Part A coverage begins, you must meet a deductible of $1,100 per illness in 2010. After you've spent that much out-of-pocket, Part A covers hospital stays of up to 90 days per illness as well as 60 reserve days of coverage. Part A also covers up to 100 days (again per illness) of care in a skilled nursing facility following hospitalization. To qualify, a doctor must certify that you need skilled care, such as intravenous injections or physical therapy, on a daily basis. Part A does not cover long-term care in a skilled nursing facility. Part A does covers certain home health care and services. Home health care is limited to part-time or intermittent skilled nursing that is medically necessary. Again, care must be ordered by a doctor, and it must be provided by an agency that Medicare certifies. According to the Census Bureau's 2008 survey, 75.1 percent (17,573,184 people) had Texas health insurance plans out of the total population of 23,406,068 Texas residents. Also as of 2008, about 405,000 Texans and more than 7 million Americans had long-term care plans.
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