Respite care is temporary care to give the primary caregiver some time off

Hospice care provides maintenance care and pain relief to a terminally ill person, and may include counseling for the patient and family members

Inflation protection increases benefits from time to time to help participants keep up with the increasing cost of long-term care

A lifetime maximum benefit is the most a plan will pay for eligible expenses for a given participant. Different lifetime maximum benefits may exist for different types of care

A daily maximum benefit is the most a plan will pay for a day of eligible expenses. There may be different daily maximum benefits for different types of care

A deductible is the share of eligible expenses you must pay before the plan starts to pay benefits

A maximum benefit period is the maximum length of time over which benefits will be paid. The maximum may be a number of weeks, months or years. If you fully recover from your disabling condition, some plans restore the maximum

A premium payment period is the period of time over which you pay premiums for long-term care coverage. Some plans require you to pay premiums for life. Other plans define a set period of time for paying premiums, such as 20 years

An elimination period (also known as a waiting period) is the length of time that must pass after you meet the plan’s requirements to receive benefits and before plan benefits begin

According to Kiplinger, one out of four workers cares for an elderly relative, and half of these people are working full-time. Caring for an aging relative is not only stressful, but also leads to increased absenteeism, extended leaves of absence and early retirement. About one out of five caregivers have to quit their jobs. And these challenges will only continue. The number of Americans over age 65 is increasing 5 to 8 times faster than the working-age population

Approximately 40% of those needing long-term custodial care are working-age adults who have sustained a serious disability through injury or sickness. A given individual has approximately a 50% probability of needing long-term care at some point in their lives. Compare these 1-in-2 odds to the 1-in-60 chance of a major house fire, and you may wonder why so many people have fire insurance and why fewer have long-term care insurance. And long-term care is expensive-currently over $50,000 per year. In 30 years, it is estimated that costs will have risen to $200,000 per year. Purchasing long-term care while you are young protects you against a serious accident or illness during your working years as well as against needing care when you are older-and at a lower premium cost than when you are older

Probably not. Medicare is primarily designed to pay for hospitalization and other medically necessary care. Medicare only pays for 2% of today's nursing home costs, because Medicare only pays for skilled nursing in a Medicare-approved facility-and it only covers the cost in full for 20 days. Medicaid, the state and federal program for low-income individuals, pays benefits for nursing home care, but people with financial assets must first "spend down" their reserves

ADLs typically include bathing, dressing, eating, maintaining continence, using the toilet, and transferring (such as between bed and chair). See your plan materials for specifics

A long-term care plan is designed to help protect your assets against the high and ever-rising costs of assisted living. Long-term care benefits begin after you meet the plan's requirements for benefits and you meet any elimination (waiting) period. A long-term care plan typically pays benefits if the covered participant develops a severe cognitive impairment – for example, if he or she suffers a stroke or Alzheimer's disease, or is no longer able to perform a certain number of basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)