Kansas Long Term Care Insurance Costs & Information on Partnership Programs
Kansas ranks 3rd among states that offer the most choices, including the most affordable, for nursing home care. This is according to Genworth's Choice and Affordability Index. Genworth Financial is one of the country's top insurance carriers of Long Term Care. They also conducted a study of median current costs of services in various Long Term Care settings in some key areas in Kansas:
| Region | Home Health Aide Hourly Rate (Medicare Certified) |
Assisted Living Facility Monthly Rate (Private room) |
Nursing Home Daily Rate (Semi-private room) |
Nursing Home Daily Rate (Private room) |
| Lawrence | n/a | $4,740 | $161 | $199 |
| Manhattan | $20 | $3,400 | $152 | $160 |
| Topeka | $18 | $4,140 | $140 | $157 |
| Wichita | $19 | $3,085 | $148 | $161 |
| Rest of State | $17 | $3,383 | $139 | $147 |
Compare the Top Providers
Kansas residents can compare the top providers of long term care insurance in the state to get the best price.
Private rooms in nursing homes cost an average of $61,320 annually. The average stay of Kansan residents in nursing homes is 3 years. Most people prefer to receive care at home. Thus, many caregiving families in Kansas spend about $37,037 each year for homemaker services. Homemaker services include house cleaning, meal preparation and running errands. Home health aide services, on the other hand, include more extensive personal care and sometimes skilled care. However, full-time home health aide services (Medicare-certified) in Kansas can cost $110,205 annually.
Medicaid may help pay for Long Term Care for Kansans with low incomes and limited resources. However, there is a certain amount of assets and monthly income that must be met in order to qualify for Medicaid assistance. The State of Kansas requires residents not to exceed the $2000 Medicaid asset limit.
To address this challenge, a new and innovative program called The Kansas Partnership for Long-Term Care was established, with an effective date of April 1, 2007. The Partnership program allows individuals to retain more assets than what is allowed under Medicaid eligibility. Thus, the people of Kansas need not spend down their assets and savings to qualify for Medicaid, if they need further assistance after depleting insurance benefits of their qualified private Long Term Care insurance policies.
The Kansas Long Term Care Partnership Program
The Kansas State Partnership for Long-Term Care is a private-public partnership program that aims to finance Long Term Care of the people of Kansas. The Partnership program allows eligible policyholders to protect their assets through Dollar for Dollar Asset Protection. Each dollar that the Partnership policy pays out in benefits allows the policyholder to keep a dollar of his assets. These assets will be disregarded during the Medicaid eligibility process.
The Partnership program is a collaboration of various state agencies, which include the Kansas Insurance Department, the Kansas Department of Aging and the Kansas Health Policy Authority. The state Medicaid program, on the other hand, is under the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
Long Term Care Partnership Policy
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) requires all qualified Long Term Care insurance policies to include the following basic benefits in order to be considered as Partnership policies:
- Issue Date - The policy must be issued after April 1, 2007 which is the date when the Partnership program became effective.
- Residency Status - An individual must be a resident of the State of Kansas at the time of issue.
- Inflation Protection - All Partnership policies include inflation protection. Policies issued to individuals under age 61 must include compound annual inflation protection. Policies issued to those between ages 61 and 76 must provide some level of inflation protection. No inflation protection is required in policies issued to individuals age 76 and above.
- Consumer protection as required by 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(b)(1)(C)(iii)(III) and 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(b)(5)(A).
- Tax Qualified Policy Feature - A Partnership policy is a qualified Long Term Care insurance policy as defined in section 7702B(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Obtaining a Partnership Policy in Kansas
Partnership policies may be obtained only from insurance brokers and carriers licensed by the Kansas Insurance Department. Insurance agents must be licensed in the State of Kansas and complete Partnership training before they are allowed to market and sell Partnership policies
Below is a list of insurance companies participating in the Partnership program, as of May 2009:
- Allianz Life Insurance Company
- Assurity Life Insurance Company
- Bankers Life and Casualty Company
- Berkshire Life Insurance Co of America
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc.
- CUNA Mutual Insurance Society
- Equitable Life and Casualty Insurance Co.
- Genworth Life Insurance Company
- Great American Life Insurance Co.
- John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- Minnesota Life Insurance Company
- Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company
- New York Life Insurance Company
- Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Co.
- Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
- Prudential Insurance Company of America
- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
- Transamerica Life Insurance Company
- United Healthcare Insurance Company
- United of Omaha Life Insurance Company
The Kansas Partnership for Long-Term Care has no reciprocity agreement. The program is working towards reciprocity with other states. Kansas, however, has voted to grant asset disregard to policyholders of Partnership policies purchased in other states.
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Kansas Long Term Care Insurance References
- Companies with Approved Partnership Endorsements
- The Kansas Partnership for Long-Term Care Brochure. 2008. Kansas Insurance Department.
- Joint Release October 12, 2007. The Kansas Insurance Department.
- Bulletin 2007-7. October 12, 2007. The Kansas Insurance Department.
- Kansas Long-Term Care Insurance Shopper's Guide. 2008. The Kansas Insurance Department.
- Plan for Your Long Term Care Needs. 2009. The Kansas Department of Aging.
- State-Specific Data From The Genworth 2010 Cost of Care Survey.
