Long term care insurance is one other way you may pay for long-term care. This type of insurance will pay or reimburse you for some or all of your long-term care. It was introduced in the 1980s as nursing home insurance but has changed a lot and now covers much more than nursing home care. The rest of this Shopper’s Guide will give you information on long term care insurance. You should know that a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, gives some federal income tax advantages to people who buy certain long term care insurance policies.
These policies are called Tax-Qualified long term care insurance Contracts, or simply Qualified Contracts. The tax advantages of these policies are outlined on page 15. There may be other tax advantages in your state. You should check with your state insurance department or insurance counseling program for information about tax-qualified policies. Check with your tax advisor to find out if the tax advantages make sense for you.
