Section 1917(b) of the Social Security Act allows states to develop Long-Term Care Partnership Programs (LTCPP) to increase the number of people buying private long-term care insurance. The Arizona Long-Term Care Partnership program began July 1, 2008.
The State Insurance Commissioner, or other state official charged with regulation and oversight of insurance policies sold in the state, determines whether a policy meets the State Insurance Department’s LTCPP requirements.
People with a qualifying policy get a resource exclusion equal to the amount of benefits paid out under the policy before the month the person applies for ALTCS.
· The resource exclusion is limited to the total amount of payments made by the insurance company through the month before the month of ALTCS application.
· The exclusion is not applied to resources that are already excluded under another ALTCS policy.
· The resource exclusion can be applied to any type of counted resource, including real property.
· The resource exclusion only applies to resources owned solely or jointly by the customer and community spouse. The resource exclusion is not applied to resources owned solely by a community spouse.
NOTE An amount equal to the resource exclusion is also excluded from collection by the Estate Recovery program.
See Long Term Care Partnership Program Exclusion for an example.
If the LTCPP policy is still paying for services during or after the month of the ALTCS application, the payments are treated as Medical Insurance Payments (see MA606QQ).
The LTCPP resource exclusion is not tied to any specific resources. So, it cannot be used to exclude a resource transferred without receiving fair value and avoid a penalty period.
Federal law allows states to enter into agreements to honor LTCPP policies purchased in another state. Arizona is a participating state.
Term |
Definition |
Estate Recovery |
Legal claim against the estate of an ALTCS customer to recover amounts paid by AHCCCS on behalf of the customer. |
Proof includes:
· A copy of the long-term care insurance policy; or
· A Request for Verification of Long Term Care Partnership Insurance Policy (DE-243) form completed by the insurance company.
Program |
Legal Authority |
ALTCS |
42 USC 1396p(b)(1)(C) |