Long Term Care Insurance Glossary of Terms

Long-Term Care Glossary

Accelerated Death Benefit

A benefit that can be added to a life insurance policy, allowing a policyholder diagnosed with a terminal illness to receive cash advances against his or her death benefit.

Activities of Daily Living

Tasks required for daily self-care, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, bed mobility, transferring, toileting and walking.

Acute Care

Short-term care is required for recovery from an incident such as an accident, injury, fall, or surgical procedure.

Adult Day Services

Care during part of a day in a professional setting, particularly for those with dementia or other chronic condition.

Advance Directive

Legal documentation that directs medical professionals that an individual either accepts or refuses medical care in the event that the individual is unable to communicate his or her wishes.

Alternate Plan of Care

A provision to one’s insurance policy that provides for benefits that are not provided in the policy.

Annuity

A contract that specifies a policyholder will provide funds to an insurance company to be distributed back to the individual at a later time.

Benefit Triggers

Criteria used to determine when a policyholder is eligible for benefits, such as requiring assistance with activities of daily living, or being diagnosed with dementia.

Chronically Ill Individual

Someone who has received a diagnosis of a progressive, recurring, or long-lasting condition, anticipated to last for at least 90 consecutive days.

Cognitive Impairment

A condition that encompasses short- or long-term memory loss, disorientation, impairment to reasoning and/or judgment.

Durable Power of Attorney

Legal documentation that allows someone to act on another’s behalf if that person should become incapacitated.

Hands-On Assistance

Physically assisting someone with activities of daily living that he or she is unable to accomplish independently.

Health Care Proxy

Legal documentation that allows someone to make medical decisions on behalf of a person who is unable to make or communicate his or her own decisions.

Home Care

Services that might prevent one from having to move into a nursing home, such as meal preparation, companionship, errand-running and transportation, light housekeeping and laundry, and assistance with personal care needs.

Informal Care

Unpaid care provided by family members, friends, or neighbors.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

Tasks required for management of finances, transportation, housekeeping, medications, meals, etc.

Lifetime Maximum Benefit

The maximum amount of funds an insurance policy will pay over a person’s lifetime.

Long-Term Care

Care delivered over an extended period of time to meet an individual’s personal needs.

Maximum Benefit Period

The period of time during which an individual can receive benefits.

Maximum Daily Benefit

The maximum amount of funds available each day to a policyholder.

Partnership Policy

A stipulation in a long-term care insurance policy that allows an individual to maintain certain assets when the policy’s benefits have been exhausted and the individual has applied for Medicaid.

Personal Care

Assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, using the toilet, etc.

Respite Care

Short-term, temporary relief that allows family caregivers the opportunity to take a break from providing care for a loved one.

Reverse Mortgage

A loan that allows individuals who are at least 62 years old to borrow against the equity in their home, tax-free, which does not need to be repaid until the individual dies or is no longer residing in the home.

Skilled Nursing Facility & Rehab/Nursing Home

A group living facility in which 24-hour nursing care is available, maintaining an RN or LPN around the clock as well as an on-call physician.

Stand-By Assistance

Being physically present to assist if needed with activities of daily living.

Toileting

Being physically present to assist if needed with activities of daily living.

Transfer of Assets

The practice of giving away property in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits, resulting in Medicaid disqualification.

Transferring

Assisting an individual to move between bed, chair, wheelchair, etc.