Federal Long-term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)
Army Reserve: Drilling
Benefit Fact Sheet
Summary:
The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) provides long term care insurance to help pay for costs of care when enrollees need help with activities they perform every day, or have a severe cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Most Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees and annuitants; active and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives; are eligible to apply for insurance coverage under the FLTCIP.
Eligibility:
Army Reserve Soldiers on drill status are eligible for FLTCIP. Members of the Individual Ready Reserve are not eligible.
Benefit Highlights:
Long Term Care: Long Term Care is care that you need if you can no lopnger perform everyday tasks (activities of daily living) by yourself. due to a chronic illness, injury, disability, or the aging process. Long term care includes the supervision you might need due to a severe cognitive impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease).
Long Term Care is not intended to cure you. You may need chronic care for the rest of your life. This care can span years and can be expensive depending on the type of care you need and location where that care is received. Long Term Care insurance is one way of helping to pay for these expenses.
Care can be received in multiple settings, including home, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, adult day care centers, or hospice facilities. The FLTCIP also covers home care from informal providers such as friends, neighbors and Family members, who did not normally live with the beneficiary at the time they became eligible for benefits.
Long Term Care is not the type of care received in the hospital or doctor's office or the type of medical care you need to get well from a sickness or an injury. In addition, it is also not short-term rehabilitation from an accident or recuperation from surgery.
Benefit Factors: The following factors need to be considered when choosing a plan. Each of these factors will affect the coverage and the premium:
- Daily Benefit Amount (DBA): The maximum amount the insurance will pay in any single day. FLTCIP offers daily benefit amounts from $100 to $450 in $50 increments
- Benefit Period: The length of time the insurance will last if care is received every day at a cost equal to or more than your DBA. The Four Benefit Periods offered are 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, and Unlimited.
- Waiting Period: The waiting period under the FLTCIP is 90 days. The waiting period is the number of calendar days during which you must be eligible for benefits before benefits can be paid.
- Inflation Protection Option: An option of FLTCIP that increases the value of benefits over time to keep pace with increasing costs of care. FLTCIP offers a choice of two inflation protection options - an Automatic Compound Inflation Option (ACIO), which increases your benefits automatically by 4% or 5% compounded annually with no increase in premium; and a Future Purchase Option (FPO), which increases benefits every other year with an increase in premiums.
Benefit Plans: This benefit is available through both pre-packaged and customized plans. There are four pre-packaged plans, based on most-used options. Or, plans can be customized by selecting the desired DBA, Benefit Period, Waiting Period, and Inflation Protection.
Calculating Premiums and Costs: The FLTCIP website (https://www.ltcfeds.com) provides tools to calculate the premium for both Pre-Packaged and Customized plans. It also provides tools to estimate Long Term Care costs throughout the country. Click here for the FLTCIP Premiums Calculator.
Applying for the Plan: The FLTCIP website (https://www.ltcfeds.com) also provides the capability to apply on-line or download applications.
Family members who qualify to apply for this benefit include:
- Current Spouses of employees and annuitants (including surviving spouses of members and retired members of the uniformed services who are receiving a survivor annuity).
- Adult children (at least 18 years old, including natural children, adopted children, and stepchildren) of living employees and annuitants. Foster children are not eligible.
- Surviving Spouses of active and retired Soldiers who are receiving a Federal survivor annuity.
Additional Information:
For more information, please visit the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program webpage maintained by the Office of Personnel Management:
Or contact Long Term Care Partners at 1(800)582-3337
The FLTCIP is medically underwritten, which means you will have to answer questions about your health on your application. Certain medical conditions, or combinations of conditions, will prevent some people from being approved for coverage. You need to apply to find out if you qualify for coverage under this Program.
Document Review Date: 20 June 2012