The GLBT Perspective

Although the need for long-term care planning affects all genders, races and age groups, the truth is that gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders face issues that others do not. It is critical to work with an agent who understands the GLBT community’s unique long-term care needs and the various options available to them.

When it comes to long-term care, children are frequently the key providers. Because most GLBT households do not have children¹ and may lack overall family support, many GLBTs often find themselves unable to depend on family or siblings for care.

Protection for Your Home

For most couples, if a spouse is in a nursing home and needs to go on Medicaid, the healthy spouse can remain in a home that is jointly owned. However, for domestic partners, generally a healthy partner cannot remain in a jointly owned home and have Medicaid pay the costs of the nursing home unless the ill partner’s share is bought out by the healthy one. With long-term care insurance, you or your partner won’t have to sell the home to pay for care. And if desired, unlike with Medicaid, the ill partner can even receive care at home.

When planning for their financial security and health, aging heterosexuals often take for granted certain benefits that are not available to GLBTs. For example, Social Security pays survivor benefits to widows and widowers, but not to the surviving same-sex life partner of someone who dies. Many 401(k)s and pension plans discriminate in a similar fashion, placing a higher burden on GLBTs.

LTCi Benefits

Of course, nobody knows what long-term care services they may need, but with proper planning, there can be many options, allowing one to remain in one’s home or community for as long as possible and provide for a better quality of life. Many carriers have responded to the unique challenges facing the GLBT community by offering benefits which help address such critical needs as:

• Discounts for same-sex couples who have co-habitated as little as 1 year.
• Shared Care benefits which allow partners to share benefit dollars once the other partner’s are exhausted.
• Stay at Home Benefits which provide extra funds to pay for home modifications, caregiver training, home safety checks, and medical alert systems.

Financial support is not the only kind of support one needs when faced with a long-term illness or injury. It’s also important to have a plan of care to meet one’s needs, assistance with the claims process, access to affordable care, and caregiving advice for you and your loved ones. A well-chosen LTCi plan can help meet these goals, which is why we recommend acting now while you are young and healthy enough to qualify for coverage.