NC Partnership LTC Insurance
North Carolina is a Long-Term Care Partnership state. Effective date: January 1, 2011.
Following the passage of the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, North Carolina expanded its Medicaid program to allow for qualified NC Partnership LTC insurance policies purchased after the state's effective date to provide guaranteed Medicaid asset protection.
This means if you buy a Partnership-qualified LTC insurance policy in North Carolina, and after going on claim you use up the benefits in your policy, you are eligible to protect your assets from the North Carolina Medicaid spend-down equal to the total benefits paid by your NC Partnership LTC insurance - this is called an "asset disregard".
Partnership-protected assets are also not subject to North Carolina's Medicaid Estate Recovery program after you die.
Provide for your care ... and for your heirs with a NC Partnership LTC insurance plan.
The "partnership" is between you the consumer, North Carolina's Medicaid program, and a private insurance company authorized to sell Partnership-certified LTC insurance in NC. Not all insurance companies or insurance agents are certified to sell NC Partnership LTC insurance.
For a policy to be a "qualified" NC Partnership LTC insurance policy it must meet the Tax-Qualified consumer protection requirements as spelled out by HIPAA in the Federal Tax Code and by the North Carolina Legislature and NC Department of Insurance. Partnership LTC insurance is "comprehensive" meaning it covers care in your own home as well as facility care - nursing homes, assisted living and memory care. Most importantly, a NC Partnership LTC insurance policy must allow for policy benefits to automatically increase for inflation.
Inflation benefits are the key to Partnership qualification.
Here is how it works. Your age on the date you apply for coverage determines what type of automatic inflation benefit you must include if you want NC Partnership Medicaid asset protection:
A "future purchase option" or "guaranteed purchase option" inflation benefit generally does NOT qualify for Partnership. These plans require you to pay additional premium every year (or every three years) to continue to increase your benefits for inflation. Even if the "purchase options" are automatically added, they still do not qualify because you can reject the increases.
(UPDATE: A few newer pay-as-you-go inflation options now qualify for Partnership in North Carolina if they price the increases on your original issue age (most do not). Always work with a certified NC Partnership LTC insurance specialist who represents multiple companies and who will show you all of your options.)
Here's an example.
A 60-year-old buys a Partnership-qualified LTC insurance policy with the following benefits:
There is no extra charge to have a Partnership policy. Think of it as "asset protection for free."
LTC insurance policy benefit options are the same price whether Partnership-qualified or not - there is no extra charge to make your policy Partnership-qualified. Like all LTC insurance, you must medically-qualify to be approved for coverage. Some on-going, progressive conditions are uninsurable. Request a quote. We represent multiple companies, and our experience allows us to work with complex medical histories - even if you've been declined before.
"What if I move to another state?"
Forty-four states now have Partnership plans. North Carolina's Long-Term Care Partnership program reciprocates with all but one other state (CA). For example, Florida is a Partnership state that reciprocates like NC. If you buy a NC LTC Partnership insurance LTC policy and then move to Florida, you will receive the same policy benefits AND Partnership asset protection from the state of Florida just like you would if you stayed in North Carolina. See the Partnership reciprocity map here.
The North Carolina Long-Term Care Partnership Program was effective for policies issued after January 1, 2011. Older policies were not grandfathered.
WARNING: Newer "linked-benefit" or "hybrid" LTC insurance benefits that are attached to a life insurance policy or an annuity do NOT ever qualify for Partnership asset protection in any state, even if the Hybrid LTC plan includes automatic inflation increases.
Following the passage of the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, North Carolina expanded its Medicaid program to allow for qualified NC Partnership LTC insurance policies purchased after the state's effective date to provide guaranteed Medicaid asset protection.
This means if you buy a Partnership-qualified LTC insurance policy in North Carolina, and after going on claim you use up the benefits in your policy, you are eligible to protect your assets from the North Carolina Medicaid spend-down equal to the total benefits paid by your NC Partnership LTC insurance - this is called an "asset disregard".
Partnership-protected assets are also not subject to North Carolina's Medicaid Estate Recovery program after you die.
Provide for your care ... and for your heirs with a NC Partnership LTC insurance plan.
The "partnership" is between you the consumer, North Carolina's Medicaid program, and a private insurance company authorized to sell Partnership-certified LTC insurance in NC. Not all insurance companies or insurance agents are certified to sell NC Partnership LTC insurance.
For a policy to be a "qualified" NC Partnership LTC insurance policy it must meet the Tax-Qualified consumer protection requirements as spelled out by HIPAA in the Federal Tax Code and by the North Carolina Legislature and NC Department of Insurance. Partnership LTC insurance is "comprehensive" meaning it covers care in your own home as well as facility care - nursing homes, assisted living and memory care. Most importantly, a NC Partnership LTC insurance policy must allow for policy benefits to automatically increase for inflation.
Inflation benefits are the key to Partnership qualification.
Here is how it works. Your age on the date you apply for coverage determines what type of automatic inflation benefit you must include if you want NC Partnership Medicaid asset protection:
- 60 and under: You must have a built-in, automatic compound inflation option of at least 3% (CPI-linked increases are OK as long as they are automatic and compounding.)
- 61–75: Any built-in automatic inflation option qualifies (compound or simple); the increase percentage can be as low as 1% (CPI-linked increases are OK).
- 76 and over: Automatic inflation is not required
- (Inflation increases that stop after 20 years - or age 76, whichever is later - can qualify for Partnership coverage.)
A "future purchase option" or "guaranteed purchase option" inflation benefit generally does NOT qualify for Partnership. These plans require you to pay additional premium every year (or every three years) to continue to increase your benefits for inflation. Even if the "purchase options" are automatically added, they still do not qualify because you can reject the increases.
(UPDATE: A few newer pay-as-you-go inflation options now qualify for Partnership in North Carolina if they price the increases on your original issue age (most do not). Always work with a certified NC Partnership LTC insurance specialist who represents multiple companies and who will show you all of your options.)
Here's an example.
A 60-year-old buys a Partnership-qualified LTC insurance policy with the following benefits:
- $4,000 per month starting benefits
- 4-year benefit period which would provide a starting maximum benefit pool of $192,000
- 3% automatic compounding benefit increases
There is no extra charge to have a Partnership policy. Think of it as "asset protection for free."
LTC insurance policy benefit options are the same price whether Partnership-qualified or not - there is no extra charge to make your policy Partnership-qualified. Like all LTC insurance, you must medically-qualify to be approved for coverage. Some on-going, progressive conditions are uninsurable. Request a quote. We represent multiple companies, and our experience allows us to work with complex medical histories - even if you've been declined before.
"What if I move to another state?"
Forty-four states now have Partnership plans. North Carolina's Long-Term Care Partnership program reciprocates with all but one other state (CA). For example, Florida is a Partnership state that reciprocates like NC. If you buy a NC LTC Partnership insurance LTC policy and then move to Florida, you will receive the same policy benefits AND Partnership asset protection from the state of Florida just like you would if you stayed in North Carolina. See the Partnership reciprocity map here.
The North Carolina Long-Term Care Partnership Program was effective for policies issued after January 1, 2011. Older policies were not grandfathered.
WARNING: Newer "linked-benefit" or "hybrid" LTC insurance benefits that are attached to a life insurance policy or an annuity do NOT ever qualify for Partnership asset protection in any state, even if the Hybrid LTC plan includes automatic inflation increases.
Comfort Long Term Care is an independent brokerage agency
representing multiple qualified
Partnership LTC insurance companies/policies
Updated 6/19/2020
