Short Term Care
Short Term Care (STC) offers a facility (nursing home or assisted living) benefit and may have some hospital coverage and home health care for up to 365 days.
- Will help people for temporary stays in a nursing home, assisted living or hospital.
- Can be for skilled care and custodial care. You have freedom to choose!
- Prior hospitalization is not required for short term care.
- Fewer medical questions than long term care insurance applications
- You can apply up to age 89!
Additional benefits and reasons to consider Short Term Care policy: • Can pay for care during a 90+ day elimination period of a Long Term Care Insurance policy.• Some Long Term Care Insurance policies only cover care in a facility or home care only; a Short Term Care policy can take care of the other risk.• If you were declined for Long Term Care Insurance, you may be eligible for a Short Term Care policy.• Protect family in the event some custodial care is needed without using other financial resources; Lower premium desired than a long term care insurance policy.• Plan design options for Short Term Care policies varies by insurance company and state of issue (resident state of applicant).
Short Term Care Insurance has flexible plan design, with options including:
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Pays for costly rehabilitation after a hospital stay for up to 360 days of care in a nursing home or assisted living |
Pays daily benefit to insured to offset out-of-pocket costs, if any. Protects the family. |
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Bed reservation - Pays for up to 10 days a year (20 days lifetime maximum to reserve bed to return to facility where you resided prior to hospital stay. |
Peace of mind to return to familiar surroundings when released from hospital or rehabilitation center. |
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Pays a daily benefit for each day confined to a hospital |
This benefit can offset out-of-pocket expenses your family has when they visit you at the hospital such as parking, food… |
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Home care rider pays the weekly benefit when at least one hour a day of professional home care service is received, three or more days a week |
Enables family to supervise the care rather than hands-on care. |
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Flexible plan design with daily benefit amounts, benefit periods and elimination period |
Ability to right-size your coverage based on your finances and other insurance. |
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Education as to what the product can do and how to effectively use it. |
Peace of mind that when you need help, Baygroup Insurance staff will answer your questions. |
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Medicare doesn’t pay for intermediate and custodial care. |
Short term care facility coverage will pay benefits for all levels of care |
Applicant may select the following:
- daily benefit amount for facility benefit
- elimination period
- benefit period (up to maximum 365 days)
- daily hospital indemnity amount
- optional weekly amount for home health care, benefit period.
Your health, finances and preferences will determine what options are available to you for insurance to pay for care. Freedom to choose the nursing home or assisted living or home care in case of an accident or illness that requires assistance and care during recovery. Benefit payments are paid directly to the insured or to medical provider designated in addition to any other health coverage.
Who is eligible for Short Term Care?
Ages to apply vary by insurance company, some start at 40 and go up to age 89. Policies are guaranteed renewable.
Medical history is considered. For a confidential prequalification contact Baygroup Insurance. We will either provide you with a medical history form to complete or we can take the information over the phone. This information is necessary to check with multiple carriers to determine which solutions are available to you and then to run comparative quotes. The best solution is based on your preferences, health and finances.
How does Short Term Care (STC) compare to Long Term Care (LTC)?
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Short Term Care (STC) |
Long Term Care (LTC) |
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Accessing benefit |
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An insured must need help with at least two ADLs (bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting, continence) or continued supervision and assistance due to cognitive impairment. There is no period these limitations are expected to be needed. |
An insured must be unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another person, at least two activities of daily living for an expected period of at least 90 days due to a loss of functional capacity; or you require substantial supervision due to your severe cognitive impairment. |
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What method are claims made? |
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indemnity method |
reimbursement method, cash, or indemnity |
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up to a maximum of 365 days |
from two years to unlimited. Most insurance companies offer a benefit period from two years to five years. |
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Sometimes this is not an option offered. We recommend you select a higher benefit amount to offset not having inflation rider. |
inflation offset future increases in cost of care. There are many options available and vary by insurance company. |
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Medical Underwriting |
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fewer health questions that look back up to five years based on conditions. |
applicant's health history via telephone interview or a personal visit by a medical professional and doctor's record. Family history is also considered with insurance companies. |
Accessing benefit
- STC - an insured must need help with at least two ADLs (bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting, continence) or continued supervision and assistance due to cognitive impairment. There is no period of time these limitations are expected to be needed.
- LTC - an insured must be unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another person, at least two activities of daily living for an expected period of at least 90 days due to a loss of functional capacity; or you require substantial supervision due to your severe cognitive impairment.
What method are claims made?
- STC - indemnity method
- LTC - reimbursement method, cash or indemnity
- STC - up to a maximum of 365 days
- LTC - from two years to unlimited. Most insurance companies offer a benefit period from two years to five years.
- STC - generally not an option. We recommend you select a higher benefit amount to offset not having inflation rider.
- LTC - inflation offset future increases in cost of care. There are many options available and vary by insurance company.
Medical Underwriting
- STC - fewer health questions that look back up to five years based on conditions.
- LTC - applicant's health history via telephone interview or a personal visit by a medical professional and doctor's record. Family history is also considered with insurance companies.
To learn more about what solution is best for your needs, contact Baygroup Insurance LLC. Our process begins with obtaining your medical and family histories and your preferences, we review underwriting guidelines to determine which options are available for you, schedule a time for an educational meeting (ofttimes it is a screen-share, you view my computer screen and talk on the phone). During the education meeting, pricing of sample plan designs will be shared and tweaked based on information you share. When you are ready to apply for coverage, an application will be completed via screen share or in person and submitted to insurance company. The length of time for the underwriting process varies based on timing of medical records received and then reviewed by the underwriter, sometimes six to eight weeks.
